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The first round of the 2017 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship is in the books, and the title hunt couldn’t have had a more exciting start. 

SAINT LOUIS (March 13, 2017) – For the ninth consecutive year, the nation’s top 24 chess players will gather in Saint Louis to compete for the titles of U.S. Champion and U.S. Women’s Champion. The 2017 U.S. Chess and U.S. Women’s Championships will be held simultaneously at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL) from March 28 through April 10.

The Winter Norm Invitational was held at the Saint Louis Chess Club from February 16-21. The norm tournaments have become a Club highlight, for they provide an excellent opportunity for players seeking their Grand Master (GM) and International Master (IM) norms.

The U.S. Championship will take place between March 27 and April 11, 2017. It is not easy to predict who will be crowned the Champions.

The final round of the U.S. Junior Championship was as exciting as one could have hoped for. The fight for first place was not decided until this round, and other top places were still within reach of several players.

The 8th round was a tepid round, with all the games ending in a draw within 4 hours of play. Nonetheless, the games had several exciting moments, but fatigue played an important role, as several players missed the opportunity to realize their advantage.

The 7th round showed the players were fatigued but still looking to give it their all. After 4 hours of play, not a single had been decided yet which set a new record in this year’s tournament.

After 5 hard fought rounds, the participants had the Wednesday off to prepare themselves for the second half of the tournament. Whereas most players stayed in and rested up, Kayden Troff had a busy schedule.

Achieving the grandmaster title is a huge feat. The hours spent every day studying, the days spent in airplanes, buses and airports just to travel to tournaments, the weeks spent at tournament halls, the months trying to perfect every strategy, truly are countless.