(CROSSVILLE, TN) Presidents Day Weekend, February 2006 ended with four Amateur Teams claiming the championship title for the respective chess championship - now there will be a playoff to decide the ultimate Amateur Championship Team! On April 2, 2006 at 1pm EST the 16 players will "face" their opponents in cyberspace at the Internet Chess Club website, under the direction of Chief Tournament Director and International Arbiter Carol Jarecki. The four teams and their members are:

TEAM EAST—MY G-8 Predecessors
1. Charles Riordan 2276 (Captain)
2. Alex Cherniack 2252
3. Lawyer Times 2174
4. Charles Mays 2039

TEAM SOUTH—Excaliber Electronics
1. GM Julio Becerra 2624
2. Jorge Reynaldo 2091
3. Javier Gonzalez 2027
4. Gil Luna 1961 (Captain)

TEAM MIDWEST—2 FMs and 2 Losers
1. Shivkumar Shivaji 2336
2. John Langreck 2226
3. FM Jim Dean 2219 (Captain)
4. Les Kistler 1971

TEAM WEST—CalTech
1. FM Patrick Hummel 2439
2. Eugene Yanayt 2312 (Captain)
3. Howard Liu 2043
4. Joshua Gutman 1993

2006 Amateur Team Playoff Rules. Some highlights of the rules are that each player will have 90 minutes on their clock for each game (G/90). Each player will play online with their own computer under the supervision of an onsite tournament director for their cyberspace championship game.

The members of the winning team will receive not only the title of 2006 Amateur Team Playoff Champions but a wrist watch commemorating this outstanding achievement. We wish "Good Chess" to all competitors.

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The United States Chess Federation (USCF), 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 over 80,000 members. For additional information on the USCF see: http://www.uschess.org.