US Championship postponed, but former champions' romance blossoms

3/18/2020 – COVID-19 is cancelling or postponing tournaments left and right. The most recent casualty is the U.S. Championship which the Saint Louis Chess Club would be postponed indefinitely on Tuesday. The 2017 U.S. Women's Champion Sabina Foisor was recently profiled along with her fiancée GM Elshan Moradiabadi on their city's local TV news. In the face of adversity, a heart-warming story.

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Waiting to compete

Sabina Foisor and her fiancée, Grandmaster Elshan Moradiabadi were both looking forward to competing in the U.S. Championship and Women's Championship, but yesterday news came from Saint Louis that it will not be held in April, with further details to be determined:

Due to the recent spread of the COVID-19 and out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to postpone the 2020 U.S. Championships, scheduled for April 9-23 at the Saint Louis Chess Club.

We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide updates as they become available. For more info, please visit US Chess.

The couple was recently featured in a TV news profile in Durham, North Carolina:

Sabina is from Romania. Elshan is from Iran. They've already travelled the world, competing against the world's top chess players. Now, they're growing their relationship in Durham.
Reporter: Scott Mason
Photographer: Robert Meikle
Web editor: Deborah Strange

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