Saint Louis Chess Club to host American legends and rising stars

by Press release
7/12/2023 – Top American junior and senior chess players will return to Saint Louis for the 2023 U.S. Senior, Junior, and Girls’ Junior Championships hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club. From July 15-25, 2023, the top 10 players across three divisions — juniors, girls, and seniors — will travel to compete for more than $130,000 in prizes. | Pictured: Alex Shabalov, Jennifer Yu and Christopher Yoo, winners of the 2022 edition | Photo: Crystal Fuller

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Juniors and Seniors return to Saint Louis

Saint Louis Chess CluTop American junior and senior chess players will return to Saint Louis for the 2023 U.S. Senior, Junior, and Girls’ Junior Championships hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club. From July 15-25, 2023, the top 10 players across three divisions — juniors, girls, and seniors — will travel to compete for more than $130,000 in prizes.

“We are excited to once again kick off this summer’s national championships by bringing together the top chess players from across the United States,” said Tony Rich, Executive Director of the Saint Louis Chess Club. “We’re proud to again host the future of chess with the U.S. Junior, U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Senior Championships.”

The three 10-player fields will tie together chess past and future for a celebration of the best of chess.

Saint Louis Chess Club

Players enjoying a good time right after the 2022 edition came to an end | Photo: Cyrstal Fuller

U.S. Junior Championship

The U.S. Junior Championship will feature a field of new and returning prodigies. Headlining players include last year’s U.S. Junior Champion GM Christopher Yoo, as well as GM Brandon Jacobson and GM Abhimanyu Mishra, the youngest player to become a Grandmaster in the history of the game at the age of 12.

With five of the players currently ranked within the top 50 juniors in the world, this year's U.S. Junior Championship pits some of the most talented and brightest young minds in the game against each other.

Along with winning the title, players will be competing to win a piece of the more than $20,000 prize fund and the coveted invitation to the U.S. Championship later this year. Thanks to the generosity of the Sue & Dewain Barber Foundation and US Chess, the winner of the U.S. Junior Championship will also be awarded a $10,000 scholarship to the university of their choice.

Name Invitational Rating Hometown
GM Christopher Yoo 2692 Dublin, CA
GM Brandon Jacobson 2643 Westfield, NJ
GM Abhimanyu Mishra 2640 Englishtown, NJ
IM Jason Liang 2630 Potsdam, NY
GM Andrew Hong 2617 Saratoga, CA
GM Balaji Daggupati 2592 San Ramon, CA
IM Justin Wang 2577 Katy, TX
IM Arthur Guo 2534 Alpharetta, GA
IM Josiah Stearman 2478 Martinez, CA
FM Arthur Xu 2247 Naperville, IL

U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship

The future of women’s chess in America is bright and will be on full display during the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship.

This tournament features a field of rising stars, including FM Alice Lee, who recently qualified for the international master title (pending FIDE approval) at just age 13, becoming the youngest female player in American history to earn the title. In addition, IM Carissa Yip headlines the field. Yip, a sophomore at Stanford, has already earned a place in chess history as she works toward becoming the seventh-youngest woman to reach grandmaster.

Along with winning the title, players will be up for the chance to win a piece of the more than $10,000 prize fund and an invitation to the U.S. Women’s Championship to be held later this year. Additionally, the winner of the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship will be awarded a $10,000 scholarship, jointly supported by US Chess and the Sue & Dewain Barber Foundation.

Name Invitational Rating Hometown
IM Carissa Yip 2482 Andover, MA
FM Alice Lee 2438 North Oaks, MN
FM Ruiyang Yan 2357 Mountain View, CA
WGM Rochelle Wu 2353 Woodland, CA
FM Zoey Tang 2262 Portland, OR
WFM Iris Mou 2231 New York, NY
NM Kelsey Liu 2209 Wellesley, MA
WFM Gracy Prasanna 2206 Nazareth, PA
NM Rose Atwell 2197 Valencia, CA
WCM Shreyga Mangalam 2117 South Barrington, IL

U.S. Senior Championship

The Saint Louis Chess Club created the U.S. Senior Champion five years ago, and for the fifth consecutive year, the U.S. Senior Championship will be held alongside the country’s junior national chess championships, where they will compete for a $75,000 prize fund.

The 2023 field boasts legendary chess players, including every winner of the tournament since its inception including GM Alex Shabalov (2019, 2022), GM Joel Benjamin (2020) and GM Gregory Kaidanov (2021). Many of the players are also U.S. Chess Hall of Fame inductees: Grandmasters Gregory Kaidanov, Joel Benjamin and Alex Shabalov.

Name Invitational Rating Hometown
GM Vladimir Akopian 2658 Glendale, CA
GM Gregory Kaidanov 2597 Lexington, KY
GM Igor Novikov 2562 Lexington, KY
GM Patrick Wolff 2549 San Francisco, CA
GM Maxim Dlugy 2547 Albrightsville, PA
GM Alex Shabalov 2544 Pittsburgh, PA
GM Joel Benjamin 2525 Waldwick, NJ
IM Douglas Root 2492 Denton, TX
GM Melikset Khachiyan 2483 Glendale, CA
GM Dmitry Gurevich 2457 Chicago, IL

Saint Louis Chess Club

Tied for first in 2022 — Alexander Shabalov, Maxim Dlugy, Larry Christiansen, Dmitry Gurevich and Vladimir Akopian | Photo: Lennart Ootes

The expert commentary team of GM’s Yasser Seirawan, Katerina Nemcova and Cristian Chirila will call the action live. The team will be providing game analysis daily online starting at 1:20 p.m. CT.

Fans can watch all the action live on www.uschesschamps.com and on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels.

Saint Louis Chess Club celebrates 15th anniversary

During the tournament, the Saint Louis Chess Club will recognize its 15th Anniversary. Over the past 15 years, co-founders Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield, alongside its staff and extended team, have impacted nearly every aspect of the game of chess. From establishing Saint Louis as the Chess Capital of the United States, to building the most elite tournament venue and hosting some of the most influential chess tournaments around the world, the Saint Louis Chess Club is among the leading chess organizations in the world.

Outside of competitive chess, the Saint Louis Chess Club is responsible for establishing extensive educational and scholastic programs - reaching over 80,000 students and spanning in-person, online after-school classes to help encourage participation in chess.

In addition, the Saint Louis Chess Club first introduced the Chess Merit Badge in 2011. Since then, it has become one of the most popular badges in the Scouts BSA merit badge catalog, with more than 300,000 scouts earning their Chess Merit badge. The Saint Louis Chess Club designed workshops provide a dynamic program of learning and adventure that builds critical thinking, forward thinking, and proper sportsmanship in young people.

Further, the organization has also pioneered innovative community outreach programs ranging from C.H.E.S.S. Cops, a program that works to build relationships between kids and police, to the Corporate Chess League that provides a venue for business professionals to join competitive leagues to help strengthen their focus, encourage strategic thinking and creativity.