Feature Story: The countdown's started!

7 Days to Go!

This is it--the one and only, no player restrictions, only one winner, 1997 Interplay US Chess Championship! These are the best of the best, regardless of age or gender. 10 former champions. Two great junior superstars. 15 Grandmasters. 16 players all together in a new knock-out format that will produce one overall US Champion in the most prestigious event on the US Chess Federation calendar. Spectators are welcome, and we'll be providing coverage right here. Take a Webside seat for three weeks of the best chess in the United States.

Wildcards and Cinderella Players

Players get to the US Championship by invitation only--but invitations come for different reasons. Most are chosen because they are the top of the US Chess Federation's Overall Top 50 Players List. But some earn their way here by performances in other events. The 1996 US Open Champion, Gabriel Schwartzman, and the 1996 US Junior Champion, Jorge Zamora, are two of America's "best and brightest" junior superstars. While Zamora is significantly lower-rated than most of the participants, the 20 year old Schwartzman is a Grandmaster in his own right, and can't be counted out early, especially with the new knock-out format.

Who are the favorites going in? One would have to be GM Alex Yermolinsky, the defending 1996 Champion. His fans call him "the Yermonator" for his series of wins in big tournaments, and against big names. He played first board for the US Olympiad team in Yerevan, Armenia last year, with an excellent performance against some of the world's best players. If Vegas has a line on this event, Yermo will be giving very short odds.

But he's not the only superstar playing. GM Yasser Seirawan has been one of America's top international players since he entered his 20's, and has frequently been among the top 50 players in the World. Many people believe the only reason he hasn't won the US Championship more often (He "only" has three titles) is that international obligations have kept him from playing in many of them. It may be time he added this title for a fourth time to an already impressive resume.

Of course, when it comes to chess resumes few can match GM Boris Gulko. He is the only person to hold the titles of both US and USSR Champion, and has a lifetime plus score against Garry Kasparov. Gulko is also a strong competitor in match-style play, and the series of "mini-matches" this year's event may suit him well.

But although Seirawan, Gulko, and Yermolinsky are all among the top 10 US Players, GM Gregory Kaidanov of Kentucky is number two on the list, second only to World Champion contender Gata Kamsky. If you believe in numerical predictions, Kaidanov has the rating to shine in this event.

But can numbers really distinguish between players all rated over 2600? Browne, Dzindzichashvili, Ivanov, de Firmian, Christiansen, and Benjamin are all former US Champions, all among the country's best. Fedorowicz, Gurevich, Kudrin, and Schwartzman have also produced strong results in important Swiss events--they can't be counted out. In fact, some would count Schwartzman's youth (he's only 20) a plus factor in a crowd of mostly late thirty- to forty-somethings.

Then there's GM Alexander Shabalov, who has relative youth, experience, and rating in his plus column. Another former US Champion, ranked #4 in the US (just behind Seirawan and ahead of Gulko), a number of analysts are predicting that the 29 year old Shabalov will be a stand-out in this year's event.

Phase One begins August 22nd. The players will be divided into two groups of eight, and play a round-robin event of 7 games. The top two finishers from each round robin will then play a four-game mini-match.

So, the first task: survive the round robin, and finish in one of the top two slots in your division. In seven days the play begins. We'll be there.

The Format

The championships run from August 22 through September 12 in Chandler, Arizona. Spectators are welcome. Format details are available in the Summary Setion. For more information on attending the event, contact the Tournament Director Robert Tanner at (602) 285-0577.

The 1997 Interplay U.S. Championship is made possible through the generosity of Interplay Productions, Inc., of Irvine, Calif. Interplay is the world's source for innovative gaming software, including "USCF Chess."

This year introduces a new three-stage format for the event.

Stage One: 7 Game Round Robin, Two Divisions
Players will be divided into two divisions of 8 players each. They will play a round robin within their section. The top two players from each section will advance.
Stage Two: Semi-Finals
The top two players in each division will then be cross-paired to determine the Semi-Finals winners.
Stage Three: The Championship
Once the semi-final winners are determined, they will meet in a six-game match for the 1997 US Championship title.