2014 U.S. Women's Chess Championship

I don't remember if I've already published this or not.  What yanks my chain is the HUGE discrepancy in prize money between 12 men fighting for $171,000 plus a $64,000 up for grabs Fischer prize if one wins all 11 rounds, and 10 women fighting for $65,000.  I mean, REALLY?

Dates:  May 7 - 21, 2014

Place:  Chess Club and Scholastic Center, St. Louis, MO
It's a beautiful venue, if a bit cramped, and in a gorgeous neighborhood. Lots of shops, bars, restaurants, night life galore.  People all over, and yet surrounded by quiet residential streets of homes that very much remind me of parts of the ever-trendy east side in Milwaukee, WI.   I walked all over that neighborhood in 2009, it was wonderful, but hot and steamy!  Even attended a couple sessions of analysis during the Kings v. Queens Tournament while I was in St. Louis in September that year attending a CCI meeting.

Invitations for MEN's Event:

• 2013 U.S. Champion: Gata Kamsky
• 2013 U.S. Junior Closed Champion: Daniel Naroditsky
• 2013 U.S. Open Champion: Josh Friedel (Will be cheering wildly for GM Friedel, now a WI resident)
• (1) - Wildcard (TBD)
• (8) - Rating (TBD - March supplement)

Invitations for WOMEN's Event:

• 2013 U.S. Women's Champion: Irina Krush
• (2) - Wildcard (TBD)
  (7) - Rating (TBD - March supplement)

So, we won't know for awhile yet who the bulk of the players will be.  I am interested in seeing who will be invited as wild card choices. 

February, 2014 top 20 U.S. Women:

1	Krush, Irina (12543137)	NY	USA	2554
2	Zatonskih, Anna (12873912)	NY	USA	2520
3	Abrahamyan, Tatev (12851435)	CA	USA	2474
4	Baginskaite, Camilla (12716466)	SD	USA	2358
5	Zenyuk, Iryna V (12846035)	PA	USA	2352
6	Goletiani, Rusudan (12807449)	NY	USA	2335
7	Rohonyan, Katerina (12973020)	WA	USA	2325
8	Belakovskaia, Anjelina (12559824)	AZ	USA	2317
9	Foisor, Sabina-Francesca (14012260)	MD	USA	2311
10	Ni, Viktorija (14449677)	IL	USA	2302
11	Nemcova, Katerina (14723368)	TX	USA	2294
12	Melekhina, Alisa (12726115)	PA	USA	2268
13	Chiang, Sarah (13091081)	TX	USA	2261
14	Inapuri, Ramya Krishna (15185381)	IL	USA	2243
15	Kats, Alena (12980885)	NY	USA	2233
16	Tsodikova, Natalya (12634942)	CA	USA	2226
17	Marinello, Beatriz (12537449)	NY	USA	2210
18	Eswaran, Ashritha (14044705)	CA	USA	2199
19	Liao, Simone (13228302)	CA	USA	2189
20	Yu, Jennifer R (14117950)	VA	USA	2166

I'm partial to Belakovskaia.  I would love to see her get an invite, accept and come and kick some butt!  Last year she was rusty and tentative, and it showed in her results.  She showed occasional flashes of her former brilliance, though.  So I have high hopes for Anjelina! 

And isn't it about time that Tatev A. finally took the title.  She comes every year and kicks butt, but somehow falls short in the end.  Sooooo frustrating, I can imagine how it is for her, LOL!  I'm just a spectator and a fan and I'm utterly worn out by it! 

Irina Krush has earned a GM title, congrats.  Want to see a lot more American chess femmes strive for that -- and not by being awarded a GM title because of winning the women's world chess championship -- although we have no player close to being able to do that.  Sigh.

Would love to see Katerina Rohonyan back at the U.S. Championship.  She played last year in the Grand Pacific Open and is back again for another go at the title in Victoria, BC in 2014!  Go Katerina! 

What's this?  I'm not on the list.  Hey, what the heck?  Well, okay okay, so my rating is something like 500 teens.  Last year I got a draw against a player rated nearly 1000 points higher than me.  I was brilliant!  I was so brilliant, I even moved his pieces!  Ha!  Take that, USCF!