Qualifiers for 2014 Pan American Youth [UPDATED DATES]
By Jerry Nash   
April 28, 2014
(CROSSVILLE, TN)  The United States Chess Federation is pleased to announce that 12 players have qualified to represent the United States of America in their age categories at the 2014 Pan American Youth Festival & Blitz  in Ciudad, Mexico.

Update from the organizers on 5/5/14:
The tournament will now be held July 10-17 (instead of July 17-24). The tournament site is now Hotel Club Dorados Oaxtepec in the State of Morelos.

These players earned this honor by achieving a peak post tournament rating according to the USCF's February Ratings Supplement.  Each player is considered the Official U.S. Representatives in their age group.  Eight players who qualified on the basis of their superior performance in the 2013 Pan American Youth Festival have earned the right to be Personal Rights Representatives of the U.S. In addition, seven players qualified as Personal Rights representatives by winning the Gold Medal at the 2013 North American Youth Chess Championships.

The Pan American Youth Festival is an open tournament for players aged 18 and under who live in the Americas.  Any USCF player who qualifies for an age group may play, but they must register for the tournament through the USCF.  A player's age for this tournament is his/her age as of January 1, 2014.  Participants other than the Official U.S. Representatives are not eligible for financial support from the USCF. 

The USCF Executive Board approved the following changes for the Pan American Youth starting in 2014:

  • All Pan American Youth players will be charged a $125 administration fee.
  • Only the Official Representatives and Personal Rights players qualifying from the previous Pan American Youth will be provided coaching. 

As the national federation, the USCF provides the tournament organizers with the official letter of endorsement for all U.S. players.  This year's event also requires payment of all expenses through the national federation. For registration and payment details, please contact Jerry Nash at [email protected].

If an Official Representative (listed below) in an age category declines to attend, then the highest rated player (according to the February supplement) in that category who is registered with the organizers and with the USCF Office by May  23rd,  2014, will be considered the Official U.S. Representative.

The link to the 2014 Pan American Youth organizers' website is:

http://panamericanoajedrezmexico2014.com/

The United States Chess Federation (USCF) is a 501©(3) organization dedicated to promoting chess in the United States. Founded in 1939, the USCF 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. To make a tax-deductible donation to support the USCF and our World Youth teams visit www.uschess.org/donate.

Congratulations to the following players who have qualified as the Official U.S. Representatives to the 2014 Pan American Youth Festival!

  • U-8 Boys - Arthur Guo - GA
  • U-8 Girls - Rianne Ke - CA
  • U-10 Boys - Aydin Turgut - IL
  • U-10 Girls - Martha Samadashvili - NY
  • U-12 Boys - Awonder Liang - WI
  • U-12 Girls - Jennifer Yu - VA
  • U-14 Boys - Jeffery Xiong - TX
  • U-14 Girls - Ashritha Eswaran - CA
  • U-16 Boys - Kayden Troff - UT
  • U-16 Girls - Simone Liao - CA
  • U-18 Boys - Darwin Yang - TX
  • U-18 Girls - Sarah Chiang - TX

Team members qualifying by Personal Rights: These players achieved medals at the 2013 Pan American Youth:

  • Kevin Chor - AZ
  • Aksithi Eswaran - CA
  • David Peng - IL
  • Cole Frutos - TX
  • Naomi Bashkansky - WA
  • Aasa Dommalapati - VA
  • Agata Bykovtsev - CA
  • Jessica Regam - PA

The following players qualify by Personal Rights by winning Gold Medals at the 2013 North American Youth:

  • Akshat Chandra - NJ
  • Alexander Velikanov - WI
  • Maximillian Lu - CT
  • WFM Megan Lee - WA
  • Kimberly Ding - NJ
  • Jennifer Yu - VA
  • Martha Samadashvili - NY