2018 U.S. Women's Championship

Maggie Feng

Title: 
FIDE Master
Rating: 
2363
Federation: 
Dublin, OH
Age: 
17
Status: 
Accepted
Chess Highlights: 
In 2016, she shattered the glass ceiling and became the first female in history to win the U.S. Junior High School Chess Championship with a strong score of 6.5/7. FM Feng competed in her first U.S. Women’s Chess Championship in 2017 and placed 7th; in that tournament, she won her game against current U.S. Women’s Champion Sabina Foisor. Over the course of the same year, she acquired her new title of FIDE Master.
Bio: 

FM Feng lives in Ohio with her family. She has competed in several tournaments hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club recently, and we expect her to appear as a regular competitor in the coming years.

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2018 U.S. Women's Championship

Dorsa Derakhshani

Title: 
International Master
Rating: 
2321
Federation: 
Saint Louis, MO, U.S.
Age: 
19
Status: 
Accepted
Chess Highlights: 
As a teenager IM Derakhshani placed first in 2012, 2013 and 2014 at the Asian Youth Chess Championships. In 2017, Derakhshani accepted a scholarship to play for the Saint Louis University Chess Team. Together with her six team members, she helped secure a third place victory at the 2017 Presidential Cup.
Bio: 

IM Derakhshani officially changed her federation from Iran to the United States in 2017 after a controversy arose about her refusal to wear a hijab while she played for the Iranian national team under the Iranian Chess Federation. Derakhshani was a loyal member of the team; however she claimed that “they cared more about the scarf covering my hair than the brain under it.” Currently, Derakhshani is a student at Saint Louis University where she studies biology, and is an accredited journalist for FIDE. At the age of 19, she is certainly a force to be reckoned with.

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2018 U.S. Women's Championship

Tatev Abrahamyan

Title: 
Woman Grandmaster
Rating: 
2450
Federation: 
Glendale, CA, U.S.
Age: 
30
Status: 
Accepted
Chess Highlights: 
Abrahamyan has competed in the U.S. Women’s Chess Championships over the last several years, but has never won despite many valiant attempts that often ended in tie-breaker decisions. She is known for her solid and determined style of gameplay, qualities that earned her the Goddesschess Award. Some of her most remarkable victories include two games against former U.S. Champion Alexander Shabalov.
Bio: 

WGM Tatev Abrahamyan started playing chess at eight after her father took her to the Chess Olympiad games in 1996. There she met Grandmaster Judit Polgar, arguably the greatest woman player of all time and the only woman in the tournament. "I was in complete awe," Tatev said. "My first thought was, 'I want to be just like her.'" She was soon playing competitively among the top players her age in Europe and has played in the U.S. Women's Chess Championship eight times.

Tatev is a formidable competitor. At the 2010 U.S. Women's Championship she played her heart out to a fantastic 7/9 score, which would usually be enough to net first place, but actually put her in a tie for second place, half a point behind Irina Krush. Tatev's strong play and fighting qualities in 2010 earned her the 9 Queens/Goddesschess Fighting Chess award, which was selected by former Women's World Champion, Alexandra Kosteniuk.

At the 2011 U.S. Women's Championship, Tatev turned in a remarkable performance, falling just short to Anna Zatonskih in the playoff finals to finish in second place. That same year, Abrahamyan graduated from California State University Long Beach with a double major in psychology and political science. These days she is a regular face of the Saint Louis Chess Club commentary and journalism crew.

Tag: 
2018 U.S. Women's Championship

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