August 2009 USCF rating lists

Top 50 Overall
August 2009 USCF Rating List:

1	Kamsky, Gata (12528459)	NY	USA	2799
2	Onischuk, Alexander (12625186)	VA	USA	2764
3	Nakamura, Hikaru (12641216)	NY	USA	2759
4	Shulman, Yury (12741541)	IL	USA	2712
5	Ehlvest, Jaan (12514557)	NY	USA	2697
6	Akobian, Varuzhan (12740522)	CA	USA	2695
7	Seirawan, Yasser (10509459)	WA	USA	2693
8	Hess, Robert L (12749774)	NY	USA	2677
9	Christiansen, Larry M (10460921)	MA	USA	2662
10	Kaidanov, Gregory (12543746)	KY	USA	2643
11	Benjamin, Joel (10102511)	NJ	USA	2641
12	Lenderman, Alex (12787646)	NY	USA	2638
13	Stripunsky, Alexander (12715435)	NJ	USA	2628
14	Ibragimov, Ildar (12576446)	CT	USA	2626
15	Shabalov, Alexander (12544264)	PA	USA	2624
16	Becerra, Julio J (12778049)	FL	USA	2616
17	Friedel, Joshua Edward (12593986)	NH	USA	2612
18	Gulko, Boris (12473035)	NJ	USA	2609
19	Finegold, Benjamin P (11264417)	MI	USA	2603
20	Kudrin, Sergey, (11257585)	CT	USA	2602
21	Polgar, Susan Zsuzsa (12452240)	TX	USA	2598
22	Fishbein, Alexander (12077910)	NJ	USA	2597
23	Khachiyan, Melikset (12827326)	CA	USA	2596
24	De Firmian, Nick E (10469007)	*FOR*	USA	2595
25	Moran, Augusto (12563207)	NY	USA	2591
26	Perelshteyn, Eugene (12627196)	MA	USA	2588
27	Yermolinsky, Alex (12534917)	SD	USA	2584
28	Goldin, Alexander (12556822)	KY	USA	2574
29	Sevillano, Enrico Manalili (12650696)	CA	USA	2569
30	Ivanov, Alexander (12513936)	MA	USA	2566
31	Root, Douglas D (10452881)	TX	USA	2565
32	Shankland, Samuel L (12852765)	CA	USA	2564
33	Duque, Raymond D (12470979)	TX	USA	2559
34	Robson, Ray (12847250)	FL	USA	2553
35	Kraai, Jesse (12442362)	CA	USA	2552
36	Gonzalez, Renier (12843801)	FL	USA	2550
37	Fedorowicz, John P (10604737)	NY	USA	2544
38	Ludwig, Daniel (12717400)	FL	USA	2543
39	Altounian, Levon (12625289)	AZ	USA	2538
40	Ippolito, Dean J (12445752)	NJ	USA	2535
41	Rohde, Michael A (10047871)	NY	USA	2530
42	Smith, Bryan G (12602587)	PA	USA	2528
43	Gurevich, Dmitry (12212800)	IL	USA	2523
44	Ashley, Maurice A (12357030)	NY	USA	2515
45	Lakdawala, Cyrus F (11486738)	CA	USA	2513
	Sagalchik, Gennady (12565070)	NY	USA	2513
47	Schneider, Dmitry (12577462)	NY	USA	2510
	Milman, Lev (21012681)	NY	USA	2510
49	Lapshun, Yury (12548533)	NY	USA	2504
	Bhat, Vinay S (12551720)	CA	USA	2504

Top 50 Women
August 2009 USCF rating list:

1	Polgar, Susan Zsuzsa (12452240)	TX	USA	2598
2	Zatonskih, Anna (12873912)	NY	USA	2496
3	Krush, Irina (12543137)	NY	USA	2478
4	Goletiani, Rusudan (12807449)	NY	USA	2437
5	Foisor, Sabina-Francesca (14012260)	MD	USA	2390
6	Baginskaite, Camilla (12716466)	CA	USA	2356
7	Abrahamyan, Tatev (12851435)	CA	USA	2334
8	Rohonyan, Katerine (12973020)	WA	USA	2331
9	Melekhina, Alisa (12726115)	PA	USA	2301
	Shahade, Jennifer (20058274)	PA	USA	2301
11	Zenyuk, Iryna (12846035)	NY	USA	2281
12	Battsetseg, Tsagaan (12719650)	MD	USA	2265
13	Epstein, Esther (12515912)	MA	USA	2209
14	Fan, Yun (14024290)	IN	USA	2201
15	Marinello, Beatriz (12537449)	NY	USA	2200
16	Marshall, Abby (12784803)	VA	USA	2181
17	Airapetian, Chouchanik (12629918)	WA	USA	2144
18	Eynullayeva, Roza (12817693)	MA	USA	2109
19	Sagalchik, Olga (12565069)	NY	USA	2107
20	Vicary, Elizabeth (12477355)	NY	USA	2106
21	Itkis, Hana (12667543)	NJ	USA	2061
	Dai, Yang (12897613)	VA	USA	2061
23	West, Vanessa A (12744619)	CA	USA	2056
24	Levina, Anna (12660143)	NY	USA	2052
25	Kats, Alena (12980885)	NY	USA	2032
26	Liu, Jennie S (12830124)	NJ	USA	2029
27	Chiang, Sarah (13091081)	TX	USA	2022
28	Teasley, Dorothy (10074258)	NY	USA	2014
	Mcvay, Karsten A (12744370)	NJ	USA	2014
30	Parrilla, Medina (12782436)	NY	USA	2004
31	Matlin, Anna R (12876169)	NJ	USA	2003
32	Root, Alexey Wilhelmina (10374651)	TX	USA	2000
	Jamison, Courtney (12746751)	TX	USA	2000
34	Mateer, Amanda Rae (12752032)	AZ	USA	1986
35	Livschitz, Louiza (12680221)	CA	USA	1981
36	Robinson, Darrian (12925651)	NY	USA	1980
37	Datta, Anjali (12783131)	TX	USA	1966
38	Kerr, Julia K (12696374)	TX	USA	1965
39	Litvak, Eve V (12799901)	NJ	USA	1963
40	Weiss, Annie (12590952)	NY	USA	1962
41	Lee, Megan (12902833)	WA	USA	1961
42	Skidmore, Jennifer M (12457851)	MI	USA	1958
43	Sobel, Simone (12607573)	CA	USA	1957
44	Yang, Sylvia Siyuan (12909161)	TX	USA	1951
45	Acon, Jennifer C (13313093)	CA	USA	1935
46	Ginzburg, Anna (12758604)	NY	USA	1909
47	Rodriguez, Eunice (12691412)	FL	USA	1908
48	Dimitrijevic, Vesna (12436451)	MA	USA	1907
49	Maffeo, Nicole (12808137)	NY	USA	1903
50	Zhu, Caroline (12888833)	TX	USA	1901

Special awards

Dr. Hal Karlsson receiving the Special USCF Service Award in Dallas. He also accepted the Chess College of the Year award of behalf of Texas Tech and the Chess City of the Year on behalf of the City of Lubbock.

USCF Press Release

US Chess Federation PRESS RELEASE – April 2, 2008

The United States Chess Federation (USCF) announces the 2008 U S Senior Championship to be held at the Marriott Hotel, Boca Raton, Florida from April 28 to May 3.

Concurrent with the Championship will be the Chess Collectors International (CCI) annual meeting. More than 150 world-famous chess sets will be on display. Also on display will be several sets from the world acclaimed “Dean Collection.” Dr. George Dean will be giving a talk on his collection, the evolution and historical significance of the chess pieces and some anecdotal tales about how he acquired some of the sets such as the world’s only two Farbage chess sets.,

Among scheduled events during this chess week, will be an auction of chess sets at the Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach. The auction will include worldwide participation over the Internet and eBAY. Information on the auction will be on the Galleries website www.agopb.com.

The closing banquet and awards presentations will be on Saturday, May 3rd. World Women’s Chess Champion Susan Polgar will be the featured speaker. Three new inductees to the US Chess Hall of Fame will be honored at the dinner.

CCI will be holding a "Chess Fair" with chess sets, chess books and chess ephemera for sale , OPEN and FREE TO THE PUBLIC, at the Marriott Hotel in Boca Raton on Friday, May 2d, from 1 to 3 PM

BANQUET AGENDA

Boca Marriott Hotel – Sat., May 3 @ 7:00pm,

Opening - Floyd Sarisohn, Don Schultz

Pledge of Allegiance - Joel Channing

New Hall of Famers - Al Lawrence

Special Awards USCF - Don Schultz

Senior Open Champion Presentation - Susan Polgar.

Special Awards CCI - Floyd Sarisohn

Closing Remarks - Susan Polgar

Music - Arun Bhagwat

For more information/reservations, please contact Donald Schultz at (561) 243 2932 or email him at chessdon@aol.com

Girls winning big with Texas Tech

Julia and Eunice Win 2007 Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls Chess Championship!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Paul Truong
August 10, 2007
Press Release #27 of 2007
PaulTruong@aol.com

(Crossville, TN) The Annual Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls began July 29 and concluded on August 3 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. A record 49 young women from all across the U.S. participated in this event.

Julia Kerr, student of Susan Polgar, and member of the Polgar Chess Center in Queens, New York and Eunice Rodriguez of Miami, Florida tied for first with final scores of 5.0 points. They were declared co-champions. Kerr won the tie-breaks and earned a full 4-year scholarship to Texas Tech University. Rodriquez, along with third place finisher Louiza Livschitz, earned partial scholarships to Texas Tech University, valued at $36,000 each for out of state students.

Defending champion Abby Marshall of Virginia scored 6-0 to win the Susan Polgar Invitational Blitz Championship, followed by Courtney Jamison of Texas and Jordana Williams of Louisiana.

The Susan Polgar Invitational Puzzle Solving Championship had a 9-way tie for first with perfect 10 scores. The order of the winners by time tie-break was: Courtney Jamison, Julia Kerr, Ashley Carter, Jordana Williams, Anna Matlin, Megan Lee, Ananya Roy, Jenelle Wallace and Kaila Smith.

The Susan Polgar Invitational Bughouse Championship was won by the team “Don’t Mess with Texas” which included Courtney Jamison and Sylvia Yang. The runner up team included Abby Marshall of Virginia and Darrian Robinson of New York.

The Miss Congeniality Award went to Louiza Livschitz of California and Ettie Nikolova of Virginia.

Megan Lee of Seattle, Washington won the Ursula Foster Memorial Award ($500.00) for the top girl under 14 years old. The gift has been donated by the sons of Ursula Foster who dedicated her life to helping young chess enthusiasts achieve their goals.

Through the sponsorships from Mr. Jeff Smith, the Susan Polgar Foundation and House of Staunton, the top 25 finishers each received a beautiful wooden chess set, valued at approximately $200. The winner received a collector’s limited edition Susan Polgar wooden chess set, valued at $400.

ICC agreed to provide a free 6-month membership to http://www.chessclub.com/. The US Chess Trust also contributes $1,000 cash scholarships to the top 4 finishers.

Beside the full scholarship to the winner, through the generosity of our sponsors, the Susan Polgar Foundation awarded more than $85,000 in additional scholarships and chess prizes to the participants this year.

This event began four years ago by GM Susan Polgar in an effort to get more girls interested in chess. Susan's efforts have proved to be fruitful as we see the rising number of girls participating in chess events.

A complete list of all participants in this year’s event can be found at:
http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2007/08/final-polgar-standings-by-order-of-tie.html

Many pictures of the event can be found at http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/.

You can also review USCF Webmaster Jennifer Shahade's article in Chess Life Online at:
http://beta.uschess.org/frontend/news_7_490.php.

##############

The United States Chess Federation (USCF), founded in 1939, serves as the governing body for chess in the United States and is now headquartered in Crossville, Tennessee. USCF is devoted to extending the role of chess in American society. It promotes the study and knowledge of the game of chess, for its own sake as an art and enjoyment, and as a means for the improvement of society. The USCF is a not-for-profit membership organization with over 80,000 members. For additional information on the USCF see: http://www.uschess.org/.

Two Texas Tech Chess Heads Elected Officers of USCF

News Release

DATE: August 8, 2007
CONTACT: Cory Chandler, cory.chandler@ttu.edu
(806) 742-2136

Two Texas Tech Chess Heads Elected Officers of U.S. Chess Federation
Susan Polgar, Paul Truong elected by unanimous votes.

Add this to the list of textbook opening moves: The two directors of Texas Tech University’s Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) were elected this week as 2007-2009 officers of the U.S. Chess Federation (USCF), giving a shot of added prominence and visibility to the newly established institute.

Susan Polgar, executive director of SPICE, was elected as the first chairman of the USCF. Paul Truong, director of marketing and public relations for SPICE, was elected vice president of marketing and communications.

“These high honors are a tribute to the skills and reputation Susan and Paul have among the millions of chess players around the world,” said Jim Brink, senior vice provost for academic affairs “We at Texas Tech are proud they are a part of our vision for our university.”

As the first chairman, Polgar will serve as the “face and voice” of the USCF, said Truong, who helped author the federation’s press release; she will represent the federation and act as a liaison with external components such as members, affiliates, sponsors and other chess organizations worldwide, including Global Chess BV, association of chess professionals and members of the World Chess Federation.

“I am honored that the chess community trusts me to represent them both nationally and internationally,” she said.

Polgar and Truong’s two-year terms as officers of U.S. chess’ governing body should benefit both organizations, Truong said, pointing out that the two entities share mutual goals in areas such as chess outreach and education. SPICE, established by Texas Tech in May, promotes chess academics and outreach and will provide an unprecedented forum for academic research on the game. The USCF is devoted to extending the role of chess and promotes study and knowledge of the game.

“I believe that this will work very nicely with what we are doing with SPICE at Texas Tech,” Truong said. “Both programs serve basically the same mission as far as promoting chess and chess education.”

Polgar, four-time Women’s World Champion, was the first woman to earn the Grandmaster title with the same qualifications as her male counterpart and the first woman to qualify for the Men’s World Championship cycle. Susan became the top woman player in the world at the age of 15 and has remained in the top three for 23 straight years.

Truong is a National Master and World Chess Federation Master with numerous national championship titles. He has co-authored best-selling chess books, coached national scholastic and Olympiad champions and organized high profile chess events. He was the captain and business manager of the 2004 Silver Medalist U.S. Women’s Olympiad Team.

For more information on SPICE and Texas Tech, visit Susan Polgar’s blog: http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2007/05/spice-and-texas-tech.html.

For additional information on the USCF see: http://www.uschess.org/.

CONTACT:

Paul Truong, director of marketing and public relations, SPICE, Texas Tech University, (806) 392-0758 or paultruong@aol.com

Jim Brink, senior vice provost for academic affairs, Office of the Provost, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-2184 or jim.brink@ttu.edu

Susan Polgar elected as first ever chairman

U.S. Chess Federation Elects New Officers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joan DuBois
August 6, 2007
931-787-1234 #123
Press Release #21 of 2007
jdubois@uschess.org

(Crossville, TN) The USCF has new officers for the next two years. Former Women’s World Champion Susan Polgar has just been elected as the first ever Chairman of the USCF. Grandmaster Susan Polgar is the winner of four Women’s World Championships and ten Olympiad medals (5 Gold, 4 Silver and 1 Bronze). She was the first woman to break the gender barrier to earn the Grandmaster title with the same qualifications as her male counterpart. She was also the first woman to qualify for the Men’s World Championship cycle. Susan became the #1 woman player in the world at the age of 15 and has remained in the top 3 for 23 straight years. She is currently the Executive Director of the Texas Tech SPICE (Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence) program. She is also the Head Coach of the Texas Tech Knight Raiders chess team.

Current USCF President Bill Goichberg has just been reaffirmed of his position. He was elected to the USCF Executive Board in August 2005. He received his Bachelor of Arts from NY University in 1963. He played in his first chess tournament in 1961 and he holds the title of National Master and FIDE Master. Between 1964 and 1967, Bill worked in the USCF office located then in Manhattan, as Ratings Statistician. He worked again in the USCF in 2004 as a volunteer in the position of Executive Director. Bill has and continues to dedicate his life to promoting chess. He is also a premier tournament organizer in the United States.

Mr. Jim Berry has been elected as Vice President of the USCF. He is a retired stockbroker and presently serves on the Board of Directors of the two billion dollar Stillwater National Bank. He played his first USCF game in 1962. Since 1991, he has played in over 230 tournaments including last four U.S. Open Championships. He has also directed over 75 chess tournaments. He twice rescued OK state chapter affiliate from bankruptcy. Since 2002, he found sponsors for over $125,000 prize funds for chess, including the recent US and US Women’s Championships.

Mr. Randy Bauer has been elected as Vice President of Finance. He has over 20 years of professional experience in budget and finance, including nearly 7 years as budget director for the State of Iowa. During that time, the State received multiple national awards for innovation and excellence in its budget processes and financial reporting. He has been actively involved as a chess player, coach, director, writer, editor, and elected state and national representative for over 30 years. He is a life member of the USCF, a national master, former Iowa state champion and Minnesota junior, junior high and senior high champion. As a competitor, he has won over 30 Grand Prix tournaments.

Mr. Paul Truong has been elected as Vice President of Marketing and Communications. He has twenty years of experience in senior management, marketing and PR, specializing in branding, customer retention, advertising and innovative promotion. He is a National Master and FIDE Master with numerous national championship titles. His chess experiences include co-authoring best-selling chess books, coaching national scholastic and Olympiad champions, organizing many high profile chess events, being an award-winning chess journalist and photographer. Paul was the captain and business manager of the historic 2004 Silver Medalist U.S. Women’s Olympiad Team. Paul currently is the Director of Marketing and PR for Texas Tech SPICE program. He is also the Assistant Coach for the Texas Tech Knight Raiders chess team.

Mr. Joel Channing has been elected as Vice President of Business Development. He has an impressive resume which includes, Channing and Channing, Architects and Engineers between 1963-1971; Channing Corporation, President 1971-1991, Chairman of the Board 1991 to present. Also on the Board of Director for US Chess Trust, Mensa, Miami Beach Planning Commission (1970-1973), State of Florida Condominium Advisory Board (1979-1983), Community Associations Institute, National Speakers Bureau (1980-1984), Florida Home Builders Association Legislative Committee (1979-1982), North Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce 1988-1990. Up until 2000 Channing also served on the City of Palm Beach Gardens Planning and Zoning Committee as well as in 1999 was on the Florida Advisory Council to the Commission on Human Relations.

Randy Hough has been elected Vice President and Secretary of the USCF. Elected in 2006, Randy is an active player and former master. He's been a National Tournament Director since 1985, having directed several national championships (including the US Open, US Championship, and National High School), and an International Arbiter since 1989. He served as technical director in the USCF office, 1983-86, on the Executive Board previously (1990-93), and has chaired several USCF committees. He is also an organizer, Southern California Federation board member, president of his local club, has taught chess in the public schools, has published dozens of articles in Chess Life, and serves as secretary/treasurer of the Chess Journalists of America. Randy is a Vietnam veteran. With a BA from UC Berkeley and an MA from UC Riverside, he was a government affairs representative for the City of Los Angeles before retiring in 2005.

This is one of the most qualified and diversified USCF Executive Board. Some of the immediate goals of this board are to increase revenues, expand memberships, build a strong, sensible and cost sensitive marketing plan to promote chess and the USCF, aggressively seek sponsors, create strong support systems for scholastic, college, adult, tournament, correspondence, Internet and professional players as well as erect an open and transparent channel of timely communications with its members. This board is also resolutely open to collaboration and cooperation with states affiliates, USCF committees, volunteers and supporters.

The United States Chess Federation (USCF), founded in 1939, serves as the governing body for chess in the United States and is now headquartered in Crossville, Tennessee. USCF is devoted to extending the role of chess in American society. It promotes the study and knowledge of the game of chess, for its own sake as an art and enjoyment, and as a means for the improvement of society. The USCF is a not-for-profit membership organization with over 80,000 members. For additional information on the USCF see: http://www.uschess.org/.