US/US Women’s Championship 2016, Robson-Nemcova-Sharevich top St Louisans

Highest Rated Field Set for 2016 U.S. Championships

Nakamura, Caruana, and Krush Confirmed

SAINT LOUIS (February 09 , 2016) – For the eighth consecutive year, the nation’s top 24 chess players will gather in Saint Louis to compete for the titles of U.S. Champion and U.S. Women’s Champion.

The 2016 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship, boasting the strongest fields of American men and women ever assembled, will be held simultaneously at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL) from April 13 through April 30.

The U.S. Championship features a headline clash between the nation’s top-three players: Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, the top American player and world number seven will seek to defend his title against world number three GM Fabiano Caruana, who is making his first-ever U.S. Championship debut, and GM Wesley So, who is currently ranked No. 10 in the world.  Beyond the three global elite, half of this year’s national championship field are players currently ranked in the top 100 in the world, including former U.S. Champion GM Gata Kamsky and 2014 Olympiad gold-medalist GM Sam Shankland.

The 2016 U.S. Women’s Championship will feature seven-time U.S. Women’s Champion GM Irina Krush, who seeks to maintain her iron grip over an up-and-coming field of American females. Krush’s competition includes IM Anna Zatonskih, the current No. 1 rated American woman, who returns this year after taking last year off due to having a new baby, and two up-and-coming teenagers – 14-year-old WIM Jennifer Yu and 12-year-old Carrisa Yip.

“The U.S. Championships are my favorite events each year. We work hard to promote America’s best players, and many of them feel like a part of our chess family,” said Tony Rich, Executive Director of the CCSCSL. “These players represent an outstanding cross-section of the current state of U.S. chess, creating what is certain to be a fierce competition for our nation’s highest titles.”