(CROSSVILLE, TN)Eight players will arrive in Dallas, Texas on July 15, 2006 at the Marriott Dallas/Addison Quorum to see who will become the 2006 U.S. Cadet Champion. Besides the prize fund for second and third prize, there is a fantastic grand prize that one of these young men will win - a four-year tuition scholarship to the University of Maryland at Baltimore County which is currently valued at approximately $62,480. Dr. Alan Sherman, Director of the UMBC Chess Program, has put together a talented chess team at UMBC which won the Final Four of College Chess earlier this year.

The eight players qualified based on being the highest rated players under age 16 (as of January 1, 2006) according to the February 2006 rating list. These players will play in an eight-player round robin event to determine the title of 2006 U.S. Cadet Champion: Marc Arnold (2202) from New York, Ray Robson (2195) from Florida, Parker Zhao (2186) from New York, Vaishnav Aradhyula (2131) from Arizona, Michael Thaler (2123) from New York, Deepyaman Datta (2119) from Texas, Thomas Riccardi (2112) from New York, and Jeffrey Haskel (2106) from Florida.

The 2006 U.S. Junior Invitational Championship and the 2006 U.S. Junior Open will be held at the same time. Online Registration for the “Open”: http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1287555. Note that active.com charges a small fee. Enter: Susan Breeding, 7909 La Guardia Dr, Plano, TX 75025. Ph: 972.208.1802. E-mail: susanbreeding@hotmail.com. website: http://www.swchess.com.

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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.