Legends and rising stars
Press release by the Saint Louis Chess Club
This summer, the Saint Louis Chess Club will host three national championship events showcasing the best American seniors, juniors and girls chess players. From July 6 – 16, 2022, Saint Louis, America’s Chess Capital, will host the top 10 juniors, girls, and seniors in the invitational 2022 U.S. Junior, U.S. Girls’ Junior, and U.S. Senior Chess Championships. The tournaments feature more than $130,000 in prizes.
“We are excited to once again kick off this summer’s national championships by bringing together the top chess players from across the United States,” said Executive Director Tony Rich. “Over the past 13 years, we’ve been proud to host the future of chess annually with the U.S. Junior and U.S. Girls’ Junior Championships and for the fourth consecutive year we will feature the legends of chess with the U.S. Senior Championship.”
The three 10-player fields will tie together chess past and future for a celebration of the best of chess.
U.S. Junior Championship
The U.S. Junior Championship will feature a field of new and returning young prodigies. 2021 U.S. Junior Champion GM Hans Niemann will not be returning to reclaim his title.
Headlining players include two-time U.S. Junior Champion GM Awonder Liang, GM Brandon Jacobson, GM Christopher Yoo and GM Abhimanyu Mishra, whose talent and determination put them among the brightest young minds in the game. Additionally, the wildcard player will be three-time U.S. Girls’ Junior Champion, IM Carissa Yip.
Along with winning the title, players will be competing to win a piece of the more than $20,000 prize fund and an invitation to the U.S. Championship later this year. The winner of the U.S. Junior Championship will be awarded a $6,000 scholarship, jointly supported by US Chess and Dewain Barber.
| Rank | Name | M/F | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Liang, Awonder | M | 2705 * |
| 2 | GM Jacobson, Brandon | M | 2627 * |
| 3 | IM Yoo, Christopher Woojin | M | 2626 * |
| 4 | GM Hong, Andrew | M | 2610 * |
| 5 | GM Mishra, Abhimanyu | M | 2607 * |
| 6 | IM Brodsky, David | M | 2584 * |
| 7 | IM Wang, Justin | M | 2565 * |
| 8 | IM Daggupati, Balaji | M | 2525 * |
| 9 | Espinosa, Pedro | M | 2222 * |
| 10 | IM Yip, Carissa | F | 2514 * |
*USCF ratings
Awonder Liang | Photo: Crystal Fuller
U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship
The future of women’s chess in America is bright and will be on full display during the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship. This tournament features a field of rising stars, while 2021 US Girls’ Junior Champion IM Annie Wang will not return to reclaim her title.
Headlining players returning to compete again this year include WGM Jennifer Yu, WGM Thalia Cervantes, and WIM Alice Lee, each considered to be among the top U.S. girls and women chess players.
Along with winning the title, players will be up for the chance to win a piece of the more than $10,000 prize fund and an invitation to the U.S. Women’s Championship later this year. Additionally, the winner of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship will be awarded a $6,000 scholarship, jointly supported by US Chess and Dewain Barber.
| Rank | Name | M/F | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FM Yu, Jennifer | F | 2388 * |
| 2 | FM Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia | F | 2355 * |
| 3 | FM Lee, Alice | F | 2347 * |
| 4 | FM Yan, Ruiyang | F | 2344 * |
| 5 | FM Wu, Rochelle | F | 2319 * |
| 6 | WFM Morris-Suzuki, Sophie | F | 2250 * |
| 7 | WFM Tang, Zoey | F | 2232 * |
| 8 | WIM Wang, Ellen | F | 2213 * |
| 9 | WFM Prasanna, Gracy | F | 2210 * |
| 10 | WFM Velea, Anne-Marie | F | 2201 * |
*USCF ratings
Jennifer Yu | Photo: Austin Fuller
U.S. Senior Championship
For the fourth consecutive year, the U.S. Senior Championship will be held alongside the country’s other national chess championships.
The 2022 field boasts legendary chess players, including four U.S. Chess Hall of Fame inductees: Grandmasters Gregory Kaidanov, the 2021 U.S. Senior Champion, Joel Benjamin, the 2020 U.S. Senior Champion, Alex Shabalov, the 2019 U.S. Senior Champion, Larry Christiansen, Igor Novikov, and wildcard Nick Di Firmian.
| Rank | Name | M/F | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Akopian, Vladimir | M | 2672 * |
| 2 | GM Christiansen, Larry | M | 2601 * |
| 3 | GM Kaidanov, Gregory | M | 2600 * |
| 4 | GM Novikov, Igor | M | 2587 * |
| 5 | GM Shabalov, Alexander | M | 2558 * |
| 6 | GM Dlugy, Maxim | M | 2549 * |
| 7 | GM Benjamin, Joel | M | 2534 * |
| 8 | IM Khmelnitsky, Igor | M | 2470 * |
| 9 | GM Gurevich, Dmitry | M | 2417 * |
| 10 | GM De Firmian, Nick | M | 2506 * |
*USCF ratings
Defending champion Gregory Kaidanov | Photo: Lennart Ootes
The expert commentary team of GM’s Yasser Seirawan, Alejandro Ramirez and Cristian Chirila will call the action live. The team will be providing game analysis daily from July 6 – July 16 online starting at 1:00 p.m. CT.
Fans can watch all the action live on www.uschesschamps.com and on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels.
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