2010 Winner of the Fighting Chess Award!

Tatev Abrahamyan!

GM Alexandra Kosteniuk selected Tatev as winner of the $1,000 Fighting Chess Award, co-sponsored this year by Goddesschess and 9 Queens, from a large field of contenders.  The award was announced Tuesday evening at the Closing Ceremony of the U.S. Women's and U.S. Junior's Chess Championships in St. Louis, Missouri.  Tatev was also the winner of a $400 scholarship sponsored separately by 9 Queens. (Photo by Suzy Gorman)

Tatev was the winner of the Goddesschess Fighting Chess Award in 2008, chosen by GM Susan Polgar.

Tatev was born in Armenia in 1988.  She moved to the United States when she was 14.  Currently she is ranked 177 in the world of active female players, and 7th in the United States.

Tatev has quite a history of appearing in U.S. Championships since she moved to the USA.  Her first appearance was in 2003 when she played in the U.S. Juniors Championship and finished with 4.5/9.  Here are the final standings from that event, where she was the only female playing:

Name Fed Title Rc Rp W N K*change
Akobian, Varuzhan USA m 2317 8.0 9 9.8
Schneider, Dmitry USA m 2329 6.0 9 3.3
Milman, Lev USA f 2336 5.5 9 9.6
Hoekstra, Matthew USA f 2343 5.0 9 15.6
Abrahamyan, Tatev USA wf 2354 4.5 9 27
Friedel, Joshua E USA 2341 3.5 9 -9.6
Lopez, Bruci USA f 2329 3.5 9 -22.6
Fernandez, Daniel USA f 2344 3.5 9 -4.2
Wang, Philip Xiao USA f 2343 3.0 9 -13.05
Rouleau, John S USA 2350 2.5 9 -8.4
Rc - average rating of rated opponents, Rp - rating performance

Her next appearance in a national championship was in the 2004 U.S. Women's Chess Championship.  Here are the final standings from that event:

 Name Fed Title Rc Rp W N K*change
Shahade, Jennifer USA wm 2340 4.5 6 22.5
Krush, Irina USA m 2319 4.0 6 -2
Zatonskih, Anna USA wg 2322 4.0 6 -0.2
Abrahamyan, Tatev USA wf 2357 2.0 6 -0.6
Battsetseg, Tsagaan USA wm 2367 2.0 5 4.5
Goletiani, Rusudan USA wg 2346 1.5 5 -15.75
Belakovskaia, Anjelina USA wg 2371 1.0 4 -9
Rc - average rating of rated opponents, Rp - rating performance

Tatev tied for first place for the Women's Champion title in the 2005 U.S. Chess Championships [a large Swiss combining both male and female players, with the top-scoring female players vying for the Women's title and separate prize money], but lost in the play-off against Rusudan Goletiani. 
 
2006 was a nutso year as far as the U.S. Chess Championships.  The men and women were once again combined into - this time - two large groups - the A Group and the B Group.  I can tell you that Tatev finished second female in the B Group to Anna Zatonskih.  The Women's Championship eventually was between defender Rusudan Goletiani and challenger Anna Zatonskih, and Zatonskih won.
 
Name Fed Title Rc Rp W N K*change
Shulman, Yury USA 2520 6.5 9 12.8
Christiansen, Larry M USA 2513 6.5 9 15.5
Kamsky, Gata USA 2522 6.5 9 0.2
Fishbein, Alexander USA 2460 6 9 7.8
 Novikov, Igor USA 2549 5.5 9 6.4
Kreiman, Boris USA 2468 5 9 4.1
Wojtkiewicz, Aleks USA 2495 5 9 -2.2
Ivanov, Alexander USA 2508 5 9 -6.7
Yermolinsky, Alex USA 2463 5 9 -5.8
Kaidanov, Gregory USA 2456 5 9 -13
Perelshteyn, Eugene USA 2502 5 9 2.3
Browne, Walter S USA 2330 5 9 -7.6
Zatonskih, Anna USA 2477 5 9 10.4
Shabalov, Alexander USA 2541 5 9 -2.2
Gulko, Boris USA 2460 4.5 9 -15.3
Lugo, Blas USA 2385 4.5 9 -3.6
Ippolito, Dean J USA 2404 4.5 9 -0.9
Milman, Lev USA 2432 4.5 9 -5.4
Becerra, Julio USA 2421 4.5 9 -16.2
Fedorowicz, John P USA 2368 4.5 9 -15.3
Muhammad, Stephen A USA 2360 4.5 9 -2.7
Kriventsov, Stanislav G USA 2484 4.5 9 4.5
Ginsburg, Mark USA 2384 4 9 -3.2
Abrahamyan, Tatev USA 2332 4 9 7.35
Vigorito, David E USA 2322 4 9 -14.25
Sarkar, Justin USA 2406 4 9 4.9
West, Vanessa A USA 2258 3.5 9 16.05
Tuvshintugs, Batchimeg USA 2510 3.5 9 32.25
Liu, Elliott USA 2302 3.5 9 14.7
Airapetian, Chouchanik USA 2309 3.5 9 16.05
Itkis, Hana USA 2246 1.5 9 -19.35
Christiansen, Natasha C USA 2233 0.5 9 -34.75
Rc - average rating of rated opponents, Rp - rating performance

The 2007 Frank K. Berry U.S. Women's Chess Championship.  Tatev didn't have an impressive performance in this round robin event, finishing with 3.5/9, in 8th place:

1 Irina Krush 7
2-3 Anna Zatonskih 6½
2-3 Katerina Rohonyan 6½
4 Batchimeg Tuvshintugs 5½
5 Tsagaan Battsetseg 5
6-7 Alisa Melekhina 4
6-7 Camilla Baginskaite 4
7-8 Tatev Abrahamyan
9 Elizabeth Vicary 2½ (Liz won the Goddesschess Brilliancy Prize)
10 Chouchanik Airapetian ½

In the 2008 Frank K. Berry U.S. Women's Chess Championship, Tatev finished in third place with 6.0.  It was her record of six wins, three losses and no draws that GM Susan Polgar pointed to in declaring Tatev the winner of the 2008 Fighting Chess Award:

1 Krush, Irina IM 2515 USA 7.0
2 Zatonskih, Anna IM 2490 USA 6.5
3 Abrahamyan, Tatev WFM 2280 USA 6.0
4 Rohonyan, Katerine WGM 2318 USA 5.5
5-6 Battsetseg, Tsagaan WIM 2251 USA 4.5
5-6 Tuvshintugs, Batchimeg WIM 2289 USA 4.5
7 Zenyuk, Iryna WFM 2205 USA 3.5
8 Epstein, Esther WM 2194 USA 1.5
9 Airapetian, Chouchanik WFM 2143 USA 1.0
10 Jamison, Courtney 2064 USA 0.0

Tatev finished in 5th place at the 2009 Championship:

1 Anna Zatonskih 2492 2462 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8½
2 Camilla Baginskaite 2356 2317 ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 6½
3 Alisa Melekhina 2253 2220 0 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 0 1 1 5½
4 Irina Krush 2490 2458 0 1 ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 5½
5 Tatev Abrahamyan 2342 2275 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ 1 1 0 4
6 Sabina Foisor 2379 2320 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 1 0 1 3½
7 Rusudan Goletiani 2437 2391 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 1 1 0 3½
8 Iryna Zenyuk 2271 2285 0 0 1 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 1 3
9 Battsetseg Tsagaan 2265 2258 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 ½ 1 2½
10 Yun Fan 2134 1935 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 1 0 0 2½

Tatev's chessplaying has made a quantum leap this year.  Her performances have garnered her both norms and ratings points, but the only title she's interested in at the moment is IM.

Tatev will be playing on the U.S. Women's Chess Olympiad Team in September along with Irina Krush, Anna Zatonskih, Camilla Baginskaite and Sabina Foisor.

Heartfelt congratulations to Tatev Abrahamyan, and good luck at the Olympiad.

The Fighting Chess Award at the 2010 U.S. Women's Chess Championship

If you read here or if you've been following the live commentary of the 2010 U.S. Women's Chess Championshp provided by GM Ben Finegold and two-time U.S. Women's Chess Champion (2002, 2004) Jen Shahade, you've seen and/or heard that for the 2010 USWCC Goddesschess teamed up with 9 Queens, an organization whose work we greatly admire, to sponsor a $1,000 Fighting Chess Award.  The tradition of the Fighting Chess Award continues.

The seeds of the Fighting Chess Award began in 2007, when Goddesschess sponsored a $300 Brilliancy Prize at the 2007 U.S. Women's Chess Championship.  That prize was won by Elizabeth Vicary for her game against Camilla Baginskaite.

In 2008 Goddesschess increased the amount of the prize and changed its focus from a brilliancy prize to the Fighting Chess Award, in honor of the fighting chess played by the Polgar sisters, iconic female chessplayers.  GM Susan Polgar graciously agreed to select the winner of the prize, which went to Tatev Abrahamyan for her score of 6 wins and 3 losses - no draws.

The winner of the 2009 Goddesschess Fighting Chess Award was again selected by GM Susan Polgar and was awarded to Anna Zatonskih, who not only won the Women's title, she did so in brilliant fashion, scoring an incredible 8.5/9.

Who will win the Fighting Chess Award in 2010? 

The women started off the 2010 championship they same way the concluded the 2009 event, with ALL DECISIVE games until Krush and Zatonskih, the two leaders in this year's championship, drew their game in Round 3. 

It seems the consensus among tghe players themselves that in order to win the title this year, 7.5/9 will be necessary.  Going into Round 7 tomorrow, three players are positioned to make a run: Anna Zatonskih, 5.5; Irina Krush, 5.0; and Tatev Abrahamyan, 5.0.  Barring a collapse, one or more of these players could reach 7.5/9, necessitating a play-off.  The next closest player in score, Alisa Melekhina, is at 3.5 and if she should win out, she would finish with an incredible score of 6.5/9, probably not enough to take the title.  Of course, anything can happen and sometimes does!

Please keep in mind that the winner of the title does not automatically win the Fighting Chess Award, the 2010 winner of which will be selected by currently reigning Women's World Chess Champion GM Alexandra Kosteniuk.  Fighting spirit must be evidenced by the winner throughout the championship; poise and grace under pressure are important; the overall quality of the games as well as the play under time pressure and the relative level of experience of the players - all thse things and more are examined and taken into account. 

This year, our Judge has heavy duty!  I have seen the overall level of play and intensity among the players increase in the USWCC every year since I've been regularly following them (2007), and this year tops last year, which hardly seems possible but I tell you, it's true. 

So, please tune into http://www.uschesschamps.com/ to follow the action this weekend. 

Now I have to get out there and cut the grass - its still 90 degrees F but the dew point is relatively low so I probably will not collapse from heat prostration, which may very well happen tomorrow when the dew point is scheduled to climb back into the tropical zone (70 and above).  Oy!

2010 U.S. Women's Chess Championship

It begins on July 9 and ends July 19th, and there are lots of great activities planned besides what I'm sure will be a whole series of great games of chess.

Live commentary will once again be provided by WGM Jennifer Shahade and GM Ben Finegold.  I so enjoyed listening to them last year through my headphones at the office while I was pretending to work, all the time clicking constantly on the games to see what the heck was going on as I listened to Jen and Ben.

There is still not much going on at the event the website for the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis, official host and sponsor of the 2010 U.S. Chess Championship, 2010 U.S. Women's Chess Championship, and 2010 U.S. Juniors' Closed Chess Championship.  I "hear" stuff is going on at the Facebook site - so if you're a member of Facebook check it out.

The total prize fund will be at least $64,000.00.  PLUS -

Goddesschess and 9 Queens are pleased to present a "Fighting Chess Award" prize of $1,000.00!!!

Stay tuned for further details.