2007 U.S. Women's Chess Championship - Battsetseg

WIM Tsagaan Battsetseg Here are the basics from the 2007 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship website: Born: Mongolia Date of Birth: January 30, 1972 Home: Ellicott City, Maryland Ratings: USCF 2234, FIDE 2241 Wife, mother, chessplayer. She was awarded a full chess scholarship by UMBC and has done community outreach work on behalf of the Chess Club at UTD. From an interview Jim Perry did with Battsetseg during the 2003 U.S. Chess Championships. JFP: What about this format where the championship is mixed gender. Is that something you like? Tsagaan: It's definitely hard for us to even make a draw against the men, but that's going to benefit us, because by playing stronger players even though we lose, we learn a lot and eventually our skill will improve. JFP: Do you think there is going to come a time when the girls are going to beat the boys? Win this event perhaps? Tsagaan: Jennifer [Shahade] had a really big surprise last year. She proved we can play against the men, so I'm hoping it's not going to be much difference between men and women. But maybe a woman has more responsibilities in her life. We are taking care of kids, sometimes leaving not much time for studying chess. I don't think there is much difference as far as capability of playing chess. JFP: In this country, the vast majority of players at all levels are men. Why do you think that there are so few women who play chess? Tsagaan: I don't know. Maybe it's a culture difference. It is a good thing that the number of women who are playing chess is increasing. That's a good thing. Battsetseg learned to play chess when she was 5 or 6 years old. At the 2005 combined U.S. Chess Championships, she earned a WGM norm and a year later at the 2006 combined Championships she earned another WGM norm. This year it’s going to be tough making a WGM norm, she’ll need 6.5/9!

2007 U.S. Women's Chess Championship - Rohonyan

WGM Katerina Rohonyan

Here are the basics from the 2007 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship website:
Born: Nikolaev, Ukraine
Date of Birth: April 25, 1984
Home: Baltimore, MD
Ratings: USCF 2304, FIDE 2316

K.R. is a very recent émigré to the USA. Playing for Armenia, on January 30, 2006 Armenian Chess reported: Armenian chess player WGM Katerina Rohonyan (Ukraine) took the first prize in the FINEK-2006 women's international tournament held in St. Petersburg, Russia. She gained 6,5 points of 9, just as much as Julia Kochetkova (Russia) had, but was the first on tie break.

K.R. is playing chess for University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus, on scholarship, where she is majoring in computer science. In her own words:

The Kiev Killer [a nickname given to her at UMBC], it turns out, is not from Kiev. "When I came here, they gave me that name," Rohonyan says. "It was the only city in Ukraine anyone here has heard of." She comes from Nikolaev, a town on the shores of the Black Sea that she says is about the size of Baltimore . She says she found her chess legs a little late for a grandmaster--at age 7. She makes it sound as if, almost against her will, she found herself being sucked into Ukraine's gigantic chess apparatus. "In 1991, it was still like the Soviet Union--they would come to school to recruit chess players," she recalls. After a few rounds at the local chess clubs, her mother pressed her to develop her skills. "She told me that I could either stop playing or become very good," Rohonyan says. "She said she didn't want me to be an average chess player." By age 16, Rohonyan became the Ukranian women's chess champion.

Rohonyan says that the pressures placed on her as a young chess prodigy were certainly tough, but she marvels at the young players now being churned out of the internet chess world. "When Bobby Fischer won the grandmaster at 15," she says, "he was the first person in the world to do that." Fischer got his start by heading down the street to the Brooklyn Chess Club, where he began to play with--and eventually beat--local chess legends. Now, Rohonyan says, there are "dozens" of teenage grandmasters who spend eight to 10 hours a day logged into vast online chess databases.

You can find some chess games of K.R. here.

2007 U.S. Women's Chess Championship - Airapetian

WFM Chouchanik Airapetian 2162 (FIDE)

C.A. participated in the 2007 U.S. Championship (it is not so designated and is open to qualifying players of both sexes, but I call it the "Men’s" event because that’s what it is, de facto) but did not do very well, scoring only 1.5/9.

She’s an underdog in the Women’s Championship, being one of the lower-rated players, but she’s a fighter, and I expect we’ll see some exciting games from C.A.

I got the following biographical information from the USCF website:

Chouchanik (b. April 20, 1975) originates from Leninakan, Armenia and learned the royal game from her mother at the age of seven. A talented youngster, she earned a place at the Armenian national team and eventually represented Armenia during the Women's Interzonal tournament, a qualification tournament for the Women's World Championship, in Georgia,1993.

Arapetian came to the U.S. in August, 1994. Chouchanik lives in Burbank, California with her husband, a former member of the Armenian national volleyball team. Among her hobbies are swimming, tennis, and shopping.

A longer biography on C.A. can be found at this Chessbase article (written by Duif) from October 2, 2005, along with several photographs of C.A. and her husband, Ararat Agaian.

In the 2005 Championships C.A. finished with 3.5 points (54th out of 64 players), winning $2,400 for her performance.

You can find some of C.A.’s games here.

2007 U.S. Women's Chess Championship 2

Okay, here is the June, 2007 top 20 women in the USA. The top 10 women (who, I assume, accept an invitation to play) will play in the 2007 U.S. Women's Chess Championship: 1 Polgar, Susan Zsuzsa NY USA 2597 2 Zatonskih, Anna NY USA 2491 3 Krush, Irina NY USA 2488 4 Goletiani, Rusudan NY USA 2392 5 Baginskaite, Camilla CA USA 2361 6 Rohonyan, Katerine MD USA 2304 7 Tuvshintugs, Batchimeg CA USA 2275 8 Abrahamyan, Tatev CA USA 2265 9 Battsetseg, Tsagaan MD USA 2234 10 Marinello, Beatriz NY USA 2211 11 Zenyuk, Iryna NY USA 2204 12 Airapetian, Chouchanik WA USA 2188 13 Epstein, Esther MA USA 2165 14 Melekhina, Alisa PA USA 2163 15 Eynullayeva, Roza MA USA 2138 16 Groberman, Elina NY USA 2137 17 Vicary, Elizabeth NY USA 2127 18 Kitagami, Show CA USA 2124 19 Sagalchik, Olga NY USA 2121 20 Shiber, Julia NY USA 2098 We know Susan Polgar won't be playing, so out of the remaining 19 women, who will play?

2007 U.S. Women's Chess Championship

Oh for Goddess' sake, what the heck is going on? I'm trying to enjoy a quiet evening at home after having just spent well over an hour watching the endgame of Onischuk v. Browne (USCF Championship) broadcast at MonRoi (run by a woman, heh heh) (I was rooting for GM Browne, but he succumbed in the end - but it was a hell of an endgame!), and here I read at Susan Polgar's blog this message: "Today, I was copied on another email by the reigning US Women's Champion. Here are some parts of this important email: " 'At the moment there is no official information from US Chess Federation, although, according to some other sources, the female US Championship could start as early as mid-July. As far as I understood, this event is going to be held 16-20th of July, which means we would have to play two rounds a day. I believe these dates to be unacceptable from every point of view: firstly it is an important event and WCh. Qualification, and secondly, this tough schedule would make my own participation almost impossible (for reasons you are well aware of). Furthermore, it is made clear, that this schedule was partly created to fit into plans of a certain player and exact days were never discussed with other participants. Another major point I would like to mention is that the idea to give places in World Women Championship from US Men Championship sounds to me both absurd and incorrect; absurd because women have to qualify having played other women; and incorrect, because nothing of the kind was initially mentioned in the contracts. Furthermore, some players would thus get two chances to qualify and others only one. I think it is in everybody’s interests that USCF makes an official statement clarifying all this, so that all the people involved could discuss the situation. I don’t believe that decisions, taken at the last moment, or even, as it happened in 2004 with WCh. Qualifications, after the events, help us to develop chess in USA. " 'Best regards, Anna Zatonskih US Women’s Champion' " I repeat - what the heck is going on? Where are the players reading this stuff - certainly not at the official USCF website! I do what I can to pick up "gossip" and such at Polgar's and Mig's blogs, but I do not have time to surf the internet all day. And in any event, I think some people must be "wired" into the "gossip chain" - or else they're being deliberately contacted/ targeted by receiving copies of emails and other correspondence that is flowing to/from USCF. After all, how could John Donaldson make an announcement that the Women's Championship would be held in July, hosted by the Berry brothers, when there has been NO OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT OF SUCH at the USCF website? How DARE the USCF go ahead and schedule a Women's Chess Championship without giving any consideration to the women - including the current U.S. Women's Champion - involved! And what the heck does this mean: Furthermore, it is made clear, that this schedule was partly created to fit into plans of a certain player. WHAT certain player? What is going on?

2007 U.S. Championship-5

Okay, the Chess Goddess has come through again :) I asked for more information, and I found some - today - at Mig's Daily Dirt. Thanks, Chess Goddess, you are the greatest. John Donaldson posted the following: The US Championship has recently been increased to $70,000. Additionally there are daily $100 most interesting game prizes decided by a vote of the public over the Internet and the return of the Crenshaw special game prize. The first five finishers advance in the FIDE World Championship cycle. The next five receive free room and board at the Continental Championship. The National Open is offering several prizes. The hotel in Stillwater is half the cost of San Diego and the organizers are ferrying the players 70 miles from Tulsa to Stillwater. Only 3 spots were assigned to women ( there will be a ten players womens event in July - also in Stillwater. We are very lucky to have the Berrys).Krush accepted immediately. For various reasons, principally work and school, many declined until Iryna Zenyuk and Chouchan Airapetian accepted. Considering that two months ago it looked like there would be no US Championship things look very good, particularly as it was not easy for many folks to make arrangements on such short notice. They will be treated very well by Jim and Frank Berry. I hope that Joel Ripken-Gehrig Benjamin returns next year! Posted by: John Donaldson at May 7, 2007 14:07 *********************************************************************************** I checked earlier today and could not find any of this information posted at the USCF website (what's new?) So - we now know that there will be 10 women playing in the Women's Championship - we just don't know who they are yet - except that they won't be any of the higest rated women players in the United States. We also know that - since it doesn't seem very likely anyone else will come forward with a "bid" at this late date (particularly since bids haven't been been solicited), the Berry brothers will host the Women's event in Stillwater. I'm glad a Women's championship will be held, after all, but I'm sad because this is certainly a much diminished event from the ones hosted by AF4C the past several years - and I'm not just talking about the prize money. Some random thoughts:

• So the prize fund for the "Men's" event has been increased to $70,000. Either Mr. Berry has found one or more additional sponsors, which is always good news, or the USCF has been shamed into kicking in another $5,000 from the $25,000 that Erik Anderson contributed to the USCF that, as I understand it, was specifically to be used for prize money for the 2007 U.S. Chess Championsips when AF4C and USCF said adieu.
• The first five finishers advance to the FIDE Championship cycle? Oh for goodness sake - well, I suppose that could be a "carrot" for some players. The better carrot is the offer of free room and board at the next Continental Championship for players 5 through 10. Now THAT has a monetary value to it, and it's far more realistic that American players who, lets face it, except for Gata Kamsky and Irina Krush, are not exactly playing in the European circuit, will find that a prize of value.
• Will the tempting "second level" prize (the free room and board for 5 members at the next Continental) cause a bunch of late-level draws where wins would otherwise be at hand? Or, even worse, losses? Ohmygoddess! Can you see it - players battling for the 5th through 10th spots on the final board???
• Where's the money coming from for the daily $100 most interesting game prize?
• Who the heck is Crenshaw?