STRONG FIELD SET FOR 2009 U.S. WOMEN’S CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP
ST. LOUIS, Sept. 2, 2009 – The 10-player field for the 2009 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship was set on Wednesday, and it’s one of the strongest in championship history.
The tournament, which takes place Oct. 3-13 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis , has 10 of the top 12 ranked women players in the country, including the top 6. The group includes four previous winners. This is the second major chess championship held at the Chess Club in 2009, with a third scheduled for next year.
“We think we have assembled the finest collection of players ever for the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship,” said Tony Rich, executive director of the Chess Club.
Topping the list at the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship are defending champion and No. 1 ranked Anna Zatonskih, of Long Island, N.Y., and her chief rival, No. 2 ranked Irina Krush, of Brooklyn, N.Y. Both are two-time champions.
The players will compete for the largest purse in championship history, $64,000, with $15,000 going to the winner.
Also in the tournament are Rusadan Goletiani, of Hartsdale, N.Y., the No. 3 ranked player in the United States, who won in 2005, and Camilla Baginskaite, of Sioux Falls, S.D., a co-champion in 2000, who is ranked fifth nationally.
Rounding out the field are Sabina-Francesca Foisor, of Baltimore, Md., the No. 4 player; Tatev Abrahamyan, of Glendale, Calif., No. 6; Alisa Melekhina, of Philadelphia, Pa., No. 8; Iryna Zenyuk, of Pittsburgh, Pa., No. 9; Battsetseg Tsaagan, of Ellicott City, Md., No. 11; and Yun Fan, of Greencastle, Ind., No. 12.
Source: www.saintlouischessclub.org
I thought you either have to have a green card or us citizenship to play in the us championship. Then how come Sabina Foisor qualify? She’s only in the us for 1 year and no green card.
Who the heck is Yun Fan? Why not Abby Marshall?
US championship? LOL
It’s USSR championship with guests from Romania and China.
I wish they would take out Foisor who clearly doesn’t meet the USCF invitational requirements and replace her with Abby Marshall who is the only American born.
IIRC, you’re eligible to play in the championship as long as you change your federation with FIDE to USA. I remember a couple of years back there was another Romanian IM that was able to play in the U.S. championships due to making the change.
where is jennifer shahade.
It is enough to be enrolled in College and change the Federation, so Foisor and Fan Yun are eligible to play; sure it is a pity that there is no Abby Marshall, but her August USCF Rating was lower than Fan Yun August USCF Rating.
I think the requirement is either you have to have a green card + 1 year or 2 years of residency without green card. Foisor only lives in the US for 1 year and she has no green card. How did she qualify ahead of Abby Marshall?
Who made this rule? So if they can play in the US Championship, they can represent to US in the Olympiad or World Championships too? This is not a fair rule. More star drooling by Goichberg and company.
Full time College enrollement is enough.
Go get em Krushie Krushie!! What a wonderful chess name works everytime! haha.
Rohanyan, Shahade, and Tuvshintugs will be missed.
‘Foisor only lives in the US for 1 year and she has no green card. How did she qualify ahead of Abby Marshall?’
Connections, my friend, connections.
Jennifer Shahade is the commentator for this event, just as she was for the U.S. Championship in May. However, she will also be an alternate, should one of the competitors fall ill or is otherwise unable to compete.
With regards to Foisor (and all the competitors for that matter) – as the organizers, we contacted the USCF and asked who was eligible by a) rating, b) activity and c) residency. To someone else’s question, it isn’t at all about “who you know”, as all competitors this year meet the qualifications set forth by the USCF prior to this event.