LARGEST TOURNAMENT AT LARGEST HOTEL

(CROSSVILLE, TN)The world’s largest scholastic chess tournament in history recorded 5230 entries in Nashville, TN, this past weekend. Students from 1300 schools in 48 states representing over 600 cities gathered at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center – the largest non-casino hotel in the U.S. - for 4 days of intense competition with pride, trophies, and scholarships on the line. A special thanks to Nashville Chess Center and Tennessee Chess Association for the support.

The 5270 students smashed the old record of 4606 entries recorded in Kansas City in 2001. National scholastic tournaments are held each year but are divided by location into elementary, middle school, and high school events. Every four years all three are gathered at one site for a “Super” National. The 2005 event is the third such event organized by the United States Chess Federation, the governing body for chess in the United States, located in Crossville, TN.

“Remarkable Growth”

“This event highlights the tremendous enthusiasm for chess among students of all backgrounds in the United States,” stated Jerry Nash, USCF Scholastic Director.  “The over 46,000 students who are members of the United States Chess Federation represent a remarkable growth of scholastic chess in recent years. Teachers have discovered chess to be an excellent tool for teaching math and developing critical thinking skills. Parents have discovered the value of chess in teaching self-discipline and character development.”

The University of Texas at Dallas awarded scholarships to the winners of each championship section (elementary, middle, and high school) each valued at about $48,000 to non-Texas residents. The winners were Joel Banawa, age 15, from Los Angeles, California; Ray Robson, 10, from Largo, Florida; and Xiao Cheng, 15, from Alpharetta, Georgia. The students must meet the university’s entrance requirements.

See www.utdallas.edu/news/archive/2005/chess-supernationals.html

The Winners by Section:
Name-State-Team-Rating/Score (Points)

K12 Individual:
CHENG, Xiao (GA-CHAE)2178/6
YANG, Ruixin (VA-TJHS) 2152/6
BERCYS, Salvijus (NY-ERMH)2453/6
KAHN, Aaron E (MI-BERK)2101/6
BANAWA, Jouaquin B (CA-ERHS)2447/6
GULAMALI, Kazim (GA-FSHS)2203/6
GOSSELL, Thomas G (MO-HOGO)2189/6
KLEGON, Matthew L (MA-BUBN)2000/6
GOLDSTEIN, Brian (FL-UNIV)2010/6

K12 Under 1500 Individual:
HENCHEY, David P (FL-HOHE)1495/6.5
NGUYEN, Quan (MN-PLYM)1369/6.5

K12 U1200 Individual:
SAHOURY, Samer (MI-CLIO)1146/7

K12 U900 Individual:
SWEATLAND, Christopher (MI-KEAR)709/7

K12 UNRATED Individual:
ROTHSCHILD, Ben J (IL-NILN)unrated/7

K9 Championship Individual:
BANAWA, Joel Cholo B (CA-ERHS)2211/6
ZHAO, Parker Bi Gu (NY-DALT)2111/6
HILTON, Jonathan L (OH-HOH1)2027/6

K9 UNRATED Individual:
FERNANDEZ, Xavier (FL-ROCK)unrated/6.5
ROJAS, John (FL-NAUT)unrated/6.5

K8 Championship Individual:
WESER, Adam (NY-JERI) 1907/6.5

K8 U1250 Individual:
JESCH, Isaiah D (KS-CONW)1077/7

K8 U1000 Individual:
ANWAR, Gohar (NY-I318) 869/7

K8 U750 Individual:
CHAVEZ, Christian (TN-CLMS) 747/7

K6 Championship Individual:
ROBSON, Ray S (FL-CDAY) 2036/7

K6 U1000 Individual:
DIAZ, Linda (NY-COLU) 775/7

K6 UNRATED Individual:
NARULA, Gautam R (GA-WEBB)unrated/7
VERA, Yurian (FL-JOSE)unrated/7
MARSHALL, Jaron (MI-DUFF)unrated/7

K5 Championship Individual:
TANAKA, Christian (CA-STMA) 1926/6.5

K5 U900 Individual:
LEDZIAN, Patrick W (FL-NHJO)711/7
STYLIANOU, Nikolas (NC-CANN)818/7
LIU, William Lin (MI-CORN) 836/7

K3 Championship Individual:
NARODITSKY, Daniel A (CA-WJDS)1688/7

K3 U800 Individual:
BAERMAN, Elliot A (TN-WSOK) 798/7
HERTZ, Matthew F (NY-COLU) 680/7

K1 Championship Individual:
GUREVICH, Daniel (GA-HOGU) 1173/7

The correct number of participants is 5270, corrected April 14, 2005.

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The United States Chess Federation, founded in 1939, serves as the governing body for chess in the United States and is now headquartered in Crossville, Tennessee. USCF is devoted to extending the role of chess in American society. It promotes the study and knowledge of the game of chess, for its own sake as an art and enjoyment, and as a means for the improvement of society. The USCF is a not-for-profit membership organization with more than 90,000 members. For additional on the USCF see: http://www.uschess.org.