With a score of 6� out of 9 games, Grandmaster (GM) Alexander Shabalov of Pittsburgh, PA is the new U.S. Chess Champion, finishing in first place by a half point. Shabalov clinched the championship and the $25,000 first place prize by winning an epic encounter in the final round against wild card entry International Master (IM) Varuzhan Akobian of Glendale, CA. Tying for second with six points each were GM Gregory Kaidanov of Lexington, KY; GM Alexander Goldin of Lexington, KY; GM Boris Gulko of Fairlawn, NJ; GM Joel Benjamin of New York, NY; GM Alex Stripunsky of Rego Park, NY; GM Alexander Ivanov of Newton, MA; and GM John Fedorowicz of New York, NY. Last year�s champion, GM Larry Christiansen of Cambridge, MA, tied for 9th place with 5� points.

Women�s International Master (WIM) Anna Hahn of Jersey City, NJ is the new U.S. Women�s Chess Champion. Hahn, defending U.S. Women�s Champion WIM Jennifer Shahade of New York, NY; and 1998 U.S. Women�s Champion IM Irina Krush of Brooklyn, NY all scored 4 � points. In a shock result in the playoff, underdog Hahn defeated both Krush and Shahade to win the title of U.S. Women�s Chess Champion for the first time.

Shahade�s excellent performance was good enough for both an IM norm and a Women�s Grandmaster (WGM) norm. She needs one more norm to earn these titles. FIDE Master (FM) Stephen Muhammad of Columbus, GA and FM Igor Foygel of Brookline, MA both earned their third and final International Master norms.

The U.S. Chess Championship was held January 9-18, 2003 at the Seattle Center in Seattle, WA. The tournament was a nine round Swiss system tournament. One game was played each day, with a rest day on January 14, where the players gave of their free time to go into the community to help promote scholastic chess in the Seattle area. The tournament was organized by America�s Foundation for Chess (AF4C). Major sponsorship for the record-breaking prize fund of $253,000 on offer was provided by the AF4C�s president and co-founder Erik Anderson, Chiropractors for a Healthy Mind and Body, and ChessMaster, the US�s No.1 selling chess software program. For more information, visit http://www.af4c.org/.

The United States Chess Federation, founded in 1939, serves as the governing body for chess in the United States and 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 more than 90,000 members. For more information, please see http://www.uschess.org.