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Chess Life Online 2011 June Junior Closed Championship Set for Saint Louis
Chess Life Online 2011 June Junior Closed Championship Set for Saint Louis | Junior Closed Championship Set for Saint Louis |
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| By Mike Wilmering | |
| June 9, 2011 | |
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SAINT
LOUIS, June 9, 2011 -- The 10-player field has been set for the 2011
U.S. Junior Closed Championship, scheduled to be held at the Chess Club
and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis June 16-26. The Junior Closed
Championship is the most prestigious tournament in the nation for the
country's top emerging talent, and this year's field is led by 2011 U.S.
Championship participant and International Master Daniel Naroditsky. Nine other competitors including FM John Bryant, 13-year-old NM Kayden Troff and IM Conrad Holt, who earned his final IM norm after a stellar showing at the Chicago Open, will compete in a nine-round, round-robin tournament to determine the champion. The winner of the U.S. Junior Closed Championship will receive an invitation to the 2012 U.S. Championship and the 2011 World Junior Championship, scheduled to be held in August in Chennai, India. Meet the Players (all ratings are taken from the USCF's June Supplement): IM Daniel Naroditsky Age: 15 USCF Rating: 2536 Hometown: Foster City, Calif. FM John Bryant Age: 19 USCF Rating: 2486 Hometown: Dallas IM Conrad Holt Age: 17 USCF Rating: 2473 Hometown: Wichita, Kan. FM Victor Shen Age: 18 USCF Rating: 2435 Hometown: Edison, N.J. FM Warren Harper Age: 20 USCF Rating: 2412 Hometown: Sugar Land, Tex. FM Alec Getz Age: 17 USCF Rating: 2398 Hometown: New York NM Gregory Young Age: 16 USCF Rating: 2384 Hometown: San Francisco NM Raven Sturt Age: 17 USCF Rating: 2375 Hometown: New York NM Kayden Troff Age: 13 USCF Rating: 2345 Hometown: West Jordan, Utah NM Jialin Ding Age: 14 USCF Rating: 2233 Hometown: Saint Louis The 2011 U.S. Junior Championship will feature a prize fund of more than $10,000: 1st: $3,000 2nd: $2,000 3rd: $1,500 4th: $1,000 5th: $750 6th: $600 7th: $500 8th: $400 9th: $300 10th: $250 Previous winners of the Junior Closed Championship include GM Bobby Fischer, GM Larry Christiansen, GM Patrick Wolff, IM Joshua Waitzkin, GM Tal Shaked, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Robert Hess, GM Ray Robson and last year's champion, GM Sam Shankland. Follow live commentary and analysis by GM Ben Finegold and FM Aviv Friedman at livestream.com/uschess. Come watch the tournament and commentary live by visiting the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, located at 4657 Maryland Avenue in the heart of the Central West End. The event is free for club members, and membership costs as little as $5/month for students or $12/month for adults. |