The 1997 Interplay U.S. Chess Championships:
Site Report

IA Carol Jarecki

International Arbiter Carol Jarecki is one of the most respected tournament directors in the world. The 1997 Interplay US Championships is also recognized by the world chess authority, FIDE, and part of Ms. Jarecki's duties are to ensure that the games follow international tournament requirements as well as American ones. Her fourth report was filed just after the closing round of the women's event.

Monday, September 1st, Phoenix, AZ (after round 7)

A minor correction to yesterday's posting: Gabriel Schwartzman leaves early in the morning to return to Gainesville not a few days from now. His classes began last week (he is majoring in finance with minor in economics) so it was imperative that he return as soon as possible. A 20-year-old Grandmaster, originally from Romania, Gabriel found his first US Championship to be a rewarding experience. "Just watching Yasser's games was worth everything--I learned so much". College responsibilities don't give him much time to study or play and the opportunity to compete with the top US GMs was invaluable.

This evening (11:30) the last game in the Women's Championship is in its final moments. Anna Gulko, with black rook, pawn and two minutes, against Angelina Belakovskaia, with queen and three minutes, is battling for a first place tie (Gulko if she wins) or second place (Gulko if she draws). Almost everyone else is in the pool.

Esther Epstein clinched a worthy first place with 7 1/2 about two hours ago-- fortunately for the Ivanov family since her husband, Alexander, came dead last in the Championship.

Flash: Belakovskaia wins in 125 moves, the longest game in either tournament, and takes clear second with 7 points. Both flags were hanging when Anna resigned.

Anna Khan has recovered quite well, winning both her games since she became ill. Tomorrow she and Irina play their postponed game right after the press conference and closing luncheon. The third and final time control will be SD30 rather than SD60 since they both have flights at 10 p.m. It's going to be a hectic day for the staff what with trips to Sky Harbor airport, a game, the midday festivities and packing up to take care of.

It might seem a bit empty after tomorrow when most of the players leave, but the semi-final match ups of Christiansen-Seirawan and Benjamin-Kaidanov promise to produce a buzz of excitement. These will be dramatic and intense games.

Our thanks to Ms. Jarecki for taking time from her duties as Arbiter at the event to give us a look from the participants' point of view!

• In her first report from the site, Ms. Jarecki tells us about conditions for players and staff, and explains the real reason she was outside spraypainting chess set in 103 degree heat before the first round of the event.
• In the second report from the site, Ms. Jarecki discusses how the local press have reacted to the presence of the country's top chessplayers.
• third report Emergency rooms, midnight basketball bames--and who bought the wrong plane tickets? The tournament news the news leaves out
• More feature articles and annotated games
• Return to main page of the 1997 Interplay US Championships section

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