News

SAINT LOUIS, February 19, 2019 - Russian Chess Grandmaster Valentina Gunina was named champion on Friday of the inaugural Cairns Cup, an elite tournament for the top female chess players worldwide. Gunina claimed the tournament victory in the final round with a draw against Russian Grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk, earning the competitors $40,000 and $30,000 respectively. American Grandmaster Irina Krush edged out Indian Grandmaster Harika Dronavalli for a clear third place finish and $20,000 prize.

ST. LOUIS, February 14, 2019 - The 2019 installment of the Champions Showdown will feature five unique matchups between top world players, as well as up-and-coming chess stars. Five U.S. players have chosen opponents from around the world and will face-off in a head-to-head format with three days of rapid play and two days of blitz from February 20-24, 2019 at the Saint Louis Chess Club. In the end, $300,000 in prize money will be divided with each winner receiving $36,000 and the opposing player receiving $24,000.

At the opening ceremony of the Cairns Cup Tuesday evening, the players promised to do all they could to play fighting chess.  They certainly didn’t disappoint. The first round of the Cairns Cup was a bloody affair, with most of the players taking lots of risk and playing aggressive chess.  There was only one draw, and black had a good day, scoring three wins to white’s one. Here are the results of the round, along with a summary of what went down in each game.  

SAINT LOUIS, January 25, 2019 - Women the world over will descend upon the Saint Louis Chess Club to compete in the inaugural Cairns Cup, an elite tournament for the top female players from around the world. The nine-round classical chess tournament, to take place from February 5-16, brings together one of the strongest international fields ever assembled in women’s chess with one of the largest prize funds for an all-female tournament.

For more information, contact:
Kiley Herndon
Phone: (314) 309-0799
kherndon@saintlouischessclub.org

Saint Louis Chess Club to Host Champions Showdown Chess 960 September 11–14

Exhibition matches feature ten chess champions, including legendary World Champion Garry Kasparov

SAINT LOUIS (January 8, 2018) – For the tenth consecutive year, the Saint Louis Chess Club will host the U.S. Chess Championship and U.S. Women’s Chess Championship. Since the 2009 Championships, the Chess Club has awarded more than two million dollars in prize money, with an additional $294,000 on the line for this year’s 24 competitors.

For more information, please contact:

Kiley Herndon

Communications Coordinator

(314) 309-0799

kherndon@saintlouischessclub.org

World Champion Magnus Carlsen and Americans Dominate

 at Champions
Showdown in Saint Louis

The sixth and final day of the Champions Showdown was a formality for the players, since Magnus Carlsen's crushing performance on days four and five already sealed the deal in his favor. Despite speculation that the World Champion would push hard for a 3000 blitz rating, arbiter Tony Rich informed us early on that none of day six's games count towards ratings.

With the other matches decided and finished, it was a two-man show at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis as Ding Liren and Magnus Carlsen entered their day three.