2009 U. S. Women's Open Chess Championship

The "First" U.S. Women’s Open Chess Championship was part of the Okie Chess Festival held over Labor Day Weekend (September 5 – 7, 2009), in Tulsa, Oklahoma. IA Frank Berry presided. This really isn’t the "first" – U.S. Women’s Opens have been held in conjunction with the U.S. Open Chess Championship sporadically for many years. (information from Wikipedia). However, this year, the event was revived and held in conjunction with the U.S. Senior Chess Championship, an Masters Invitational and an Open. Whew! The four events attracted over 170 players. Coverage at Chess Life Online in an article by Tom Braunlich (scroll down the article to reach the part about the Women’s Open). This is a rather piece-meal report! I haven’t been able to locate a players’ list or final standings. The official website, didn’t provide this information as of the date of this report. All I can tell you is what is reported below – Saheli Nath won with 5.0/6 but since she is not qualified to play in the 2010 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship, NM Iryna Zenyuk, who finished in clear second place with 4.5/6, won the spot. I found this information at Oklahoma Chess Foundation’s website: U.S. Women's Open The 1st U.S. Women's Open featured a strong field of 20 players, 10 rated expert or above. Saheli Nath, and Indian player attending University of Texas at Dallas, won with 5/6. NM Iryna Zenyuk (2280) was clear second with 4.5, and as the top American wins a slot in the 2010 U.S. Women's Championship. IA Frank Berry was kind enough to send me this video of some of the action, taken by Cesar Horta, of Tyler, Texas, who played in the Senior section.