2017 Saint Louis Invitational

Mauricio is an International Master from Costa Rica. He was the Costa Rican National Champion 2009 and first board of the Costa Rica national team in the Chess Olympiad teams of 2010 and 2012 ( Khanty-Mansiysk and Istanbul). Mauricio also received second place in the Centro american Sub-zonal 2014 and is the main head of the chess program for the under 20 national teams of Costa Rica 2017.

In March 2014, Annie Wang became the youngest female chess master in the United States at age 11--breaking the record that had been held by Irina Krush since 1996. (Annie held this record for one year, until Carissa Yip broke it in March 2015.) The following year, she competed in the 2015 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship at just 12 years old. Notable achievements for Annie include an undefeated win in the U2100 section of the Annual Recession Buster Open in San Diego in 2013, and first place in the U-18 Girls section of the 2014 North American Youth Chess Championship, where she earned her WIM title. When she isn’t playing chess, Annie enjoys reading and spending time with friends.

Matt Larson is a FIDE Master from Saint Louis. Starting in middle school, he began to play at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. He rapidly improved, and played in the 2014 US Junior Closed. He became a FIDE master in 2016, and he earned IM norms in the Chicago open in 2016 and 2017. He is currently a Junior at Yale University studying math.

I am a 19 year old National Master from Coquille, Oregon currently studying mathematics at Webster University.  I managed to be the #1 junior (U18) player in Oregon for 3 years in a row.  I've made two IM norms so far in the 2016 SPICE Cup and the 2017 Chicago Open.  I also finished tied for first in the 2017 Chicago Class Championships.  I hope to finally make my last IM norm here!

Luis Torres is from Mexico City, Mexico. He has represented Mexico in the World Olympiad and in several World Youth Championships. He became an International Master in 2013. His most prestigious achievements include finishing runner-up in the Mexican Absolute Championship, winning the North American Youth Championship-U14, and consecutively becoming National Youth Champion of Mexico. He also represented Texas Tech in 2014 and 2017 Final Four Editions.

FM Lefong Hua is a chess coach and trainer from Montreal, Canada. Lefong excelled at chess as a child, most notably finishing 5th place in the 1992 World Youth Chess Championship alongside future top GM’s Aronian, Grischuk, and Bacrot. After a semi-retirement of ten years, he made his return to the tournament scene in 2016, scoring his first IM norm at the 2016 Saint Louis Autumn Invitational.

Vitaly Neimer is an International Master from Israel and currently lives in Saint Louis, MO. He came to the U.S. to join the prestigious Webster SPICE. He is also a two time Israeli national champion and a certified chess trainer. Vitaly often serves as the Grandmaster in Residence at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center.

Sabina is a Woman Grandmaster and the reining US Women's Champion. Originally from Romania, Sabina is currently residing in Durham, NC. She has been representing the US Team at four consecutive Olympiads (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016) and three Women's World Team Championships (2013, 2015, 2017). Prior to immigrating to the US, she won multiple European girls championship titles. Aside from playing chess, Sabina has graduated from University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) with an MA in Intercultural Communication in 2014 and an Undergraduate Degree in Linguistics in 2012. After winning the US Championship this year, Sabina has been actively involved in promoting chess among kids from under privileged background. She is very focused on promoting chess among girls and women using her skills she acquired from chess and academia. Sabina has two IM norms.