2007 U.S. Chess Championship Brilliancy Prizes

Mig has reported on the winners of the fan-sponsored brilliancy prizes at his website. Third prize of $200 went to GM Gregory Kaidanov; second prize of $500 went to GM Alexander Shabalov (also the clear winner of the 2007 U.S. Chess Championship ("Men’s"); and the big first prize of $1,165 went to GM Julio Becerra. I confess, prior to this championship I hadn’t heard of Becerra but I’ll be paying attention from now on! You can read about the reasons determining the awards at Mig’s site. For those of you who weren’t following the story, Mig originally put up a challenge at his website – he staked up to $500 out of his own pocket and challenged chess fans to match the amount. Many fans rallied and contributed. A total of $1,855 was collected, including Mig’s $500. Mig said this in his May 26, 2007 post: Thanks to everyone who donated and participated. It went far beyond my expectations and might even make inroads into new sponsorship models (actually old ones, just online now) for chess in places like the US where it's not really considered a sport. Museums, concerts, and other cultural events across the US are supported by enthusiasts. Why not chess? In the old days there would be subscriptions taken up for everything from tournaments to medical bills for Grandmasters. More on this topic later. I am interested to see what "more on this topic later" means.

2007 U.S. Championship-8

Hola darlings! Well, it's over for 2007. GM Alexander Shabalov won the U.S. Championship ("Men's") with 7.0/9 by winning the last game (Round 9), 1/2 point clear of defending Champion Alexander Onischuk. The chess femmes didn't fare so well. Contrary to my expectations, IM Irinia Krush did not make 4.5 and thus, did not earn a spot in the Women's World Chess Championship zonal event for which the U.S. has three spots. Therefore, all three spots will now be determined in the upcoming 2007 Frank K. Berry U.S. Women's Chess Championship. Well well well! Does that mean that Krush will now play in the July Women's Championship? Stay tuned. Perhaps there is some other way for her to qualify for the zonal? I don't understand all this chessly stuff, that's for sure! My suspicion is that the powers that be keep this all deliberately obscure on purpose :) Here are the final standings for the chess femmes: (24) IM Irina Krush (2488), 4.0; (32) WFM Iryna Zenyuk (2229), 2.5; and (36) WFM Chouchanik Airapetian (2188), 1.5. And now, the Brilliancy Prize Fund that Mig raised over at Chess Ninja/Daily Dirt, over $1800, will be distributed in a manner I find somewhat strange (why aren't they equal?) - but hey, I only contributed $25, to winners to be determined by a combination of recommendations from the regulars who post there and two IMs who volunteered to help him out on the matter. The top brilliancy prize will be at least $1000.