(Crossville, TN) The U.S. Chess Federation’s (USCF) 107^th Annual U.S. Open Championship will be held at the Double Tree Hotel in Chicago-Oak Brook, Illinois August 8 – 13, 2006. Over 500 players are expected to compete for this prestigious title and join the rankings of previous U.S. Open Champions.  

The guaranteed prize fund is $40,000. There are three playing schedules offered in an effort to accommodate players: Traditional (9-Day), 6-Day, 5-Day. All players will be merged after having played five games.

The U.S. Blitz (quick chess) Championship will be held on August 12 with a guaranteed prize fund of $2000. The competition consists of 14 games, five minutes per player per game!

As is traditional, daily side events will also take place, each with their own prize fund.

The Arnold Denker Tournament of High School Championships will begin Sunday, August 6 at 11 am and conclude Friday, August 11. This event was started by Grandmaster Arnold Denker in 1985. The Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls, a new event which was created in 2004 by GM Susan Polgar, will also begin Sunday, August 6 and conclude August 11. The Top age 13 winner from each event will receive the annual Ursula Foster Scholarship Award which involves each winner getting $500.00 to spend on chess related books and equipment.

Over and above these events, the U.S. Open also serves as our annual Delegate Meeting venue. Committee members meet at their respective workshops Wednesday, August 9 until Friday, August 11. The Delegates then meet Saturday, August 12 and Sunday, August 13.

On Saturday, August 12 between noon-2pm the annual Awards Luncheon will be held. At the luncheon the recipients of the special awards chosen by the USCF Executive Board will be recognized. The recipients are:

“Chess City of the Year” – Crossville, TN and Palm Beach Gardens, FL; “Chess Club of the Year” – St. George CC from St. George, UT; “Chess College of the Year” – University of Connecticut School of Engineering (Storrs, CT) and Texas Tech (Lubbock, TX); “Committee of the Year” – International Affairs Committee, Michael Khodarkovsky – Chairperson; “Distinguished Service” – Mike Nolan; “Honorary Chess Mates” – Jim Warren, Dolores Wagner, Elizabeth Tanner; “Gold Koltanowski Medal” – America’s Foundation for Chess; “Meritorious Service” – Jim Brotsos, Jon Haskel, Wilder Wadford, Jon & Barbara Fortune; “Organizer of the Year” – Cris Collinsworth ProScan Foundation; “Outstanding Career Achievement” – Gus Gosselin, Fred Goldhirsch, Doug Bellizzi, David MacEnulty, Jerry Weikel; “Scholastic Service” – Tim Redman; “Special Services” – Kim Cramer, John Donaldson, Mikhail Korenman, Greg Shahade; “Tournament Director of the Year” – Walter Brown; “Special Friend of the USCF” – Phil Haley; “GM (Grandmaster) of the Year” – GM Ildar Ibragimov and WGM Anna Zatonskih; “Frank J. Marshall” – Shaun Alexander Foundation. . 

Also our 10th Annual golf tournament will be held at the US Open

Chess Tournament. You have to play in the chess tournament to play in the golf tournament. Please email Mike Wojcio if interested: [email protected]. There will be a Chess in Education Workshop - August 7-8, 2006 and the American Chess University Hosts FIDE Trainers Seminars August 11-12, 2006.  Additional details can be found at: http://www.uschess.org/tournaments/2006/usopen/

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U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONS

 • 1939 Reuben Fine • 1940 Reuben Fine • 1941 Reuben Fine • 1942 Herman Steiner, Dan Yanofsky • 1943 I.A. Horowitz • 1944 Samuel Reshevsky • 1945 Anthony Santasiere • 1946 Herman Steiner • 1947 Isaac Kashdan • 1948 Weaver W. Adams • 1949 Albert Sandrin Jr. • 1950 Arthur Bisguier • 1951 Larry Evans • 1952 Larry Evans • 1953 Donald Byrne • 1954 Larry Evans, Arturo Pomar • 1955 Nicolas Rossolimo • 1956 Arthur Bisguier, James Sherwin • 1957 • Robert Fischer, Arthur Bisguier • 1958 E. Cobo-Arteaga • 1959 Arthur Bisguier • 1960 Robert Byrne • 1961 Pal Benko • 1962 Antonio Medina • 1963 William Lombardy, Robert Byrne • 1964 Pal Benko • 1965 Pal Benko, William Lombardy • 1966 Pal Benko, Robert Byrne • 1967 Pal Benko • 1968 Bent Larsen • 1969 Pal Benko, Arthur Bisguier, Milan Vukcevich • 1970 Bent Larsen • 1971 Walter Browne, Larry Evans • 1972 Walter Browne • 1973 Norman Weinstein • 1974 Pal Benko, Vlastimil Hort • 1975 Pal Benko, William Lombardy • 1976 Anatoly Lein, Leonid Shamkovich • 1977 Leonid Shamkovich, Andy Soltis, Timothy Taylor • 1978 Joseph Bradford • 1979 Florin Gheorghiu • 1980 John Fedorowicz, Florin Gheorghiu • 1981 Florin Gheorghiu, Larry Christiansen, Jeremy Silman, Nick de Firmian, John Meyer • 1982 Andrew Soltis, William Martz • 1983 Larry Christiansen, Viktor Korchnoi • 1984 Roman Dzindzichashvili, Sergey Kudrin • 1985 Yasser Seirawan, Boris Spassky, Joel Benjamin • 1986 Larry Christiansen • 1987 Lev Alburt • 1988 Dmitry Gurevich • 1989 Lev Alburt • 1990 Yasser Seirawan • 1991 Michael Rohde, V. Akopyan • 1992 Gregory Kaidanov • 1993 Alexander Shabalov • 1994 Georgi Orlov, Dmitry Gurevich, Ben Finegold, Smbat Lputian, Leo Kaushansky, Albert Chow • 1995 Alex Yermolinsky • 1996 Gabriel Schwartzman • 1997 Alex Yermolinsky • 1998 Judit Polgar, Boris Gulko • 1999 Alex Yermolinsky, Alexander Goldin, Eduard Rozentalis, Alexander Shabalov, Gabriel Schwartzman, Michael Mulyar • 2000 Alex Yermolinsky • 2001 Alek Wojtkiewicz, Joel Benjamin, Alexander Stripunsky, Fabian Doettling • 2002 Gennady Zaitchik, Evgeniy Najer • 2003 Alexander Shabablov • 2004 Alexander Onishuk, Rodrigo Vasquez, Aleks Wojkiewicz, Ildar Ibragimov, Andranik Matikozyan, Renier Gonzalez, Marcel Martinez  • 2005 • Vadim Milov, Joel Benjamin, Phoenix, Arizona • August 2005

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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.