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2005 US Open Update

Lenderman Finishes First at 2005 World Youth Championship

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National News

2005 US Open Update

For more information on the 2005 US Open, visit the USCF website.

With a guarenteed prize fund of $40,000 and qualifying spots for the US Championship, the US Open promises to be one of the most exciting tournaments of the year. The tournament, scheduled for August 6th through August 14th, will be held in Phoenix, Arizona.

If that much wasn't enough, two invitational tournaments will be held alongside the US Open. The Denker Tournament of High School Champions will pit state high school champions against each other, while the Polgar Invitational Tournament for Girls will allow the nation's top young female players a chance to match wits across the chess board. These events will award scholarships to outstanding chess talent, so they can more easily continue both their chess and academic careers.

There will also be a large number of side events during the main tournaments. A blitz championship is scheduled for August 7th, and for the 9th time, the Annual U.S. Chess Open Golf Tournament will be held. In addition, many other activities will take place during the week, including:

• Committee workshops
• USCF Delegates Meeting
• USCF Award Luncheon
• The opportunity to receive a free copy of "Test, Evaluate and Improve Your Chess"

All this and more make the 2005 US Open one of the premier events on the national chess calendar. We will continue to provide information on the 2005 US Open leading up to and through the tournament. For more information, including a list of entries already recieved, click here.

Lenderman Finishes First at 2005 World Youth Championship

This press release originally appeared on the USCF website.

Alex Lenderman won his final game to take first place in the Under-16 Male division of the 2005 World Youth Championship in Belfort, France. Daniel Naroditsky, Ray Robson, Parker Zhao, and Robert Hess also finished the tournament in the top ten of their divisions (see final scores below).

The U.S. team finished in sixth place after Russia, Poland, India, Georgia, and China. Rounding out the top ten teams were France, Spain, Germany, and Armenia.

Our congratulations go to all the players, their families, and the coaches of the U.S. team!

The following players placed in the top 10 of their divisions:

U10 Male
DANIEL A NARODITSKY - 7.0 - 5th Place

U12 Male
RAY S ROBSON - 8.0 - 6th Place
PARKER BI GUANG ZHAO - 8.0 - 10th Place

U14 Male
ROBERT L HESS - 7.5 - 5th Place

U16 Male
ALEX LENDERMAN - 9.0 - 1st Place

Final U.S. Player Scores:

U10 Male - State - Score
DANIEL A NARODITSKY- CA - 8.0
ANDREW C WANG- MA - 6.0
JUSTIN D KARP- NY - 5.0
LUCAS VAN BEUZEKOM- FL - 5.0
CHRISTOPHER HEUNG- FL - 5.5

U12 Male - State - Score
PARKER BI GUANG ZHAO- NY - 8.0
RAY S ROBSON- FL - 8.0

U14 Male - State - Score
ROBERT L HESS- NY - 8.0
MARC TYLER ARNOLD- NY - 6.5
EVAN D JU- NJ - 7.0

U16 Male - State - Score
ALEXANDER S BARNETT- MD - 6.0
ALEX LENDERMAN- NY - 9.0
ELLIOTT LIU- CA - 5.0
MAX ENKIN- MA - 5.5
NICOLAS A YAP- CA - 6.0
TEDDY COLEMAN- NY - 5.0
ALEKSANDR PELEKHATY- NY - 5.5

U18 Male - State - Score
LEV MILMAN- NY - 7.0
ROBERT HUNGASKI- CT - 5.5

U10 Female - State - Score
SYLVIA S YANG- TX - 6.0
EVE D ZHURBINSKIY- NJ - 6.0

U12 Female - State - Score
GAYATRI S VEMPATI- TX - 5.5
JORDANA WILLIAMS- LA - 5.0

U14 Female - State - Score
ALISA MELEKHINA- PA - 7.0
MEDINA PARRILLA- NY - 6.5
KARSTEN A MC VAY- NJ - 6.5
COURTNEY JAMISON- TX - 5.0

U16 Female - State - Score
KATHARINE A PELLETIER- NY - 7.0
ETTIE NIKOLOVA- VA - 5.0

U18 Female - State - Score
LAURA R ROSS- NY - 5.5
HANA ITKIS- NJ - 5.5

TOP 10 COUNTRIES, SCORES, AND NUMBER OF PLAYERS

COUNTRY--TEAM SCORE--# OF PLAYERS
RUSSIA - 85 PTS - 27
POLAND - 81 PTS - 25
INDIA - 80.5 PTS - 34
GEORGIA - 80 PTS - 18
CHINA - 77 PTS - 21
USA - 75.5 PTS - 31
FRANCE - 75 PTS - 107
SPAIN - 72 PTS - 40
GERMANY - 72 PTS - 35
ARMENIA - 71 PTS - 14

Special thanks go to the following who served as coaches for the U.S. delegation:

Michael Khodarkovsky, Head of Delegation:
Aviv Friedman
John Fedorowicz
Joel Benjamin