(Crossville, TN)  The Arnold Denker Tournament of High School Championship was named after the late grandmaster Arnold Denker who supported this tournament through many years. This years championship was held at the Double Tree Oak Brook located in Oak Brook, IL.  His son Mitchell Denker has vowed to continue the dream in the name of his father. High school players, representing their state will be competing for not only the prestigious title but also for a four-year college scholarship from the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), valued at $40,000.

Nelson Lopez II, from North Carolina, scored 5-1/2 points to capture first place in the 2006 GM Arnold Denker Tournament of High School Championship.  This year, Tyler Hughes, from Colorado, won the full four-year college scholarship to University of Texas at Dallas. The top two finishers, Lopez and Alexander Chua, had just finished their senior year, and the prize was for incoming high school seniors or younger. Because of an early draw with Ian Beachler, from Iowa, in round one, Alexander Chua, from Texas, finished a half point behind Lopez with 5 points.  Four players tied for third through sixth with 4-1/2 points, in tiebreak order:  Evan Ju, from New Jersey; Hughes, from Colorado; Corbin Yu, from Oregon; and Brian Goldstein, from Florida.

The tournament is open to boys and girls in ninth through twelfth grade qualifying from their respective states.  This year, for the first time, Elina Kats, from New York, had to choose between playing in the 2006 GM Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls or the “Denker” tournament which were run concurrently.  She chose the “Polgar.”

The “Denker” was founded in 1984 by GM Arnold Denker (1914-2005). Denker

 is known as the "Dean of American chess." The author, hall of famer and U.S. Champion continued to support the tournament throughout his life. The concept of the Denker is to bring together state high school champions to compete for glory as well as college scholarships. Some state championships are particularly competitive, like California, Texas and New York, with several players over 2000 vying for the single “Denker” spot.

Besides being an outstanding college, UTD has also been known to be highly competitive as far as chess is concerned. For information about the college, please contact The University of Texas at Dallas, http://chessweb.utdallas.edu/chessclub.htm.

In addition to the college scholarship, through the generosity of GM Denker’s son, Mitchell and the U.S. Chess Trust, scholarships totaling $2,200 will be awarded between the top ten finishers.  Additional details can be found at: http://www.uschess.org/scholastic/denker.html.

See how competitive this tournament was with the following game from the tournament winner:

2006-08-11
White: Nelson Lopez II (2136)
Black: Tyler Hughes (2186)

1. e4 c5  2. Nf3 e6  3. Nc3 a6  4. d4 cxd4  5. Nxd4 b5  6. Bd3 Qb6  7. Nb3 Qc7  8. O-O Bb7  9. Qe2 d6  10. f4 Nd7  11. Be3 Ngf6  12. Nd2 h5  13. f5 e5  14. a4 b4 15. Na2 Ng4  16. Bg5 Be7  17. Nf3 Rc8  18. Kh1 a5  19. c3 b3  20. Nc1 Nc5  21. Bxe7 Kxe7 22. Nd2 Nxd3  23. Qxd3 Qb6  24. Qb5 Qxb5  25. axb5 h4  26. Ncxb3 h3  27. g3 Ne3 28. Rf3 Nc4  29. Kg1 d5  30. Nxc4 dxc4  31. Nxa5 Bxe4  32. Re3 Bxf5  33. Nc6+ Kf6 34. Nxe5 g6  35. Ra7 Be6  36. b6 Rcd8  37. b7 Rd1+  38. Kf2 Rhd8  39. Ra8 R8d2+ 40. Re2 Rh1  41. Rxd2 Rxh2+  42. Ke3 Rxd2  43. b8=Q h2  44. Qh8+  1-0

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.