Mike Wilmering, Communication Specialist for the Chess Club and Scholastic Center, invited me to attend the 2014 closing ceremony for the U. S. Championship and the U. S. Women's Championship which was held at the Starlight Room of the Chase Hotel May 20th. It was the sixth consecutive year that the Chess Club (4657 Maryland) hosted the championship.
What I observed, and Mike confirmed, is that the U. S. Championship (the men's competition), garners much more attention than the Women's Championship. The prize money for the 2014 Championships was the largest ever. The total awarded for the men's championship was $172,000, $45,000 went to the winner, Grandmaster Gata Kamsky. In the women's division, the total amount awarded was $72,000, $20,000 went to the winner, Grandmaster Irina Krush. Interestingly, both finalists live in Brooklyn.
Founder Rex Sinquefield attributes the success of the Chess Club to his wife Jeanne, above right. She's pictured with Asritha Eswaran, age 13, the youngest player to participate in the championship. Asritha has been playing for 5 or 6 years. One of two wild card players considered for the tournament, Asritha traveled to St. Louis with her mother, Jackuline Theagarajan, from her home in San Jose, CA.
These are the two most prestigious, invitation-only chess tournaments in the U. S. The U. S. Championship is a 12-player round robin featuring the top male chess players in the country. The U. S. Women's Championship is a 10-player round robin featuring the top 10 female players in the country. Asritha finished 8th and was also presented with an additional $1000 at the awards ceremony for playing the most exciting game in the tournament.
Twenty-three year old Katerina Memcova, above, was born in Prague and has been playing chess since she was 4 years old. She'll graduate from the University of Texas Brownsville in December with a degree in Communications. According to Katerina, the university has one of the best chess programs in the country. This is the fourth year Katerina has played in the U. S. Women's Championship. She loves to come here and said she absolutely agrees that St. Louis should have been named the Chess Capital of the U. S. by the U. S. Senate on May 5.
Mike Wilmering said the Chess Club focuses on providing a welcoming environment for these professionals, from the accommodations that are provided at the Chase Hotel, to the choice of food that is served, and even the lighting in the tournament playing hall.
Photographed with Katerina is Ed Gonsalves and Viktorija Ni, who also competed in the tournament. Ed, who's from Rhode Island, is a huge U.S. Championship fan who uses vacation days to travel to St. Louis for the championships each year.
Those who are unable to travel here could watch the championship live on Fox Sports Midwest 1. It was available in 170 countries around the world! Live play-by-play of every round could also be accessed online at USChessChamps.com.
The buffet was a popular spot before the ceremony.
Though I wasn't able to find out who these gentlemen are, I included this photo because I found the gesture and expression intriguing.
St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley praised the Sinquefields for their contribution to the St. Louis community.
Mayor Francis Slay gave the Sinquefields the key to the city for their enormous dedication and help in revitalizing chess in the U. S. Because of the Sinquefields, the Mayor said, St. Louis is now known around the world as the best place for chess in the U.S.
Grandmaster Irina Krush is shown with the Sinquefields as she accepted her prize.
Grandmaster Gata Kamsky emerged as the winner in a playoff following a three-way tie at the end of regulation play. There was also a three-way tie in the women's division, which I understand happens rarely (if ever). The "run-off" was played the day of the awards ceremony and concluded shortly before the celebration was to begin.
Rex Sinquefield entertained the audience with tournament trivia. There were 743 "checks" throughout the tournament, 6.4 checks per game – and "lots of Hungarians too," he said. 1000 students in schools and community centers in the St. Louis area are playing chess because of the efforts of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center. Jeanne Sinquefield announced that any middle-school child in the city of St. Louis is now eligible to get a kid-safe code to play chess online just by stopping by the Chess Club.
Another bit of trivia: Tournament play started at 1 p.m. each day and each match lasted about 5 to 6 hours. When the players weren't competing, they were analyzing their game. Most of the players have coaches too.
It was announced at the ceremony that the 2015 U. S. Championship and U. S. Women's Championship will be played at the 6,000 s.f. Chess Center again next May. The 2014 U. S. Junior Closed Championship is next on the Chess Club's schedule. The event begins June 19 and concludes on June 29th. More information can be found on the website.
Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. 4657 Maryland Ave., (314) 361-2437.