St. Louis to host “Super Bowl” of chess
By Greg Jonsson
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/28/2009
They might not be household names like the superstars in other competitions, but the top American chess players are soon to grace St. Louis for the invitational 2009 U.S. Chess Championship.
“It’s the main event for chess in the United States every year,” said Tony Rich, executive director of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis, which will host the event.
“It’s just like the Super Bowl for the chess world.”
Two dozen chess players will compete for more than $130,000 in prize money May 7-17 at the Central West End chess club.
Competitors will include the top 12 American players, the top two American female players, the 2008 U.S. Junior Closed Champion, the 2008 U.S. Open Champion and the 2009 U.S. State Champion of Champions.
There will also be seven wild card spots.The championship will consist of nine rounds over 10 days, with a rest day halfway through the tournament. Spectators will be welcome.
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Nice to see the U.S. Open at a major midwestern city with leading universities such as Washington University.
entIt ain’t the US Open, it’s the US Championship. (It ain’t the Superbowl of Chess either, but that’s another story.)
Sorry. Got tennis and chess confused. Either way, it seems like a nice venue.