2010 State Scholastic Championship has concluded

The 2010 Az State Scholastic Chess Championship was this past weekend at the Holiday Inn - Palo Verde in Tucson, Az. 568 students from all over that state participated in the 2-day event. Congratulations to all of the 2010 State Champions! Complete standings are available on the SACA website. The tournament has already been rated by USCF.

K - 1

1. Cayman Treptow (7.0 pts) *
2. Zachary Hauben (6.0 pts)
3. Conner Revak (6.0 pts)

1. St. Cyril School (18.5 pts) **
2. St. Michael's School (18.5 pts) **
3. Killip Elementary (18.0 pts)

Primary (K-3)

1. Richard Qi (7.0 pts) *
2. Thayer Aletheia-Zomlefer (6.0 pts)
3. Benjamin Hong (6.0 pts)

1. Killip Elementary (20.5 pts)
2. Harelson Elementary (20.0 pts)
3. Sam Hughes Elementary (20.0 pts)

Elementary (K-5)

1. Ethan Li (6.5 pts) **
2. Kendrick Nguyen (6.5 pts) **
3. Tony Yim (6.0 pts)

1. Manzanita Elementary (20.5 pts) *
2. Lineweaver Elementary (20.0 pts)
3. BASIS (Scottsdale) (16.0 pts)

Elementary (K-6)

1. Alec Andersen (6.0 pts) *
2. Thomas Mathine (5.5 pts)
3. Sumhith Aradhyula (5.5 pts)

1. Doolen Middle School (17.0 pts) **
2. Killip Elementary (17.0 pts) **
3. Orange Grove Middle School (16.5 pts)

Junior High (K-9)

1. Kinsleigh Wong (6.5 pts) *
2. Derek Chen (6.0 pts)
3. Tyler Sypherd (6.0 pts)

1. Esperero Canyon Middle School (20.0 pts) *
2. Orange Grove Middle School (19.0 pts)
3. Chandler Preparatory School (18.0 pts)

High School (K-12)

1. Kevin Zhang (6.0 pts) *
2. John Williams (5.0 pts)
3. Nick Thompson (5.0 pts)

1. Catalina Foothills High School (17.0 pts) *
2. Gilbert High School (16.5 pts)
3. Pinnacle High School (12.0 pts)

* - State Champion
** - State Co-Champions (trophies were awarded in tie-break order)

Complete standings for the Blitz tournament are also available.

Kevin Zhang will represent Arizona at the Denker Tournament of High School Champions which will be held this summer in Irvine, CA in conjunction with the 111th Annual US Open.

Thank you to the players, coaches, parents, and staff that made this year's event a complete pleasure and success!!!

Related:
KOLD news coverage of the tournament

Az State Scholastic Championship - In progress

Over 560 players have stormed the Holiday Inn - Palo Verde in Tucson, AZ for this year's state scholastic chess championship. The participants will play 7-rounds (6 in high school) over the 2-day weekend to compete with players and schools from across the state for individual and team titles.

There are still 3 more rounds tomorrow and lots of chess to play!

Levon Advances to US Championship

IM Levon Altounian has advanced to next month's US Championship. Levon won a spot in the tournament by defeating Damir Studen 1.5 - .5 in the finals of the ICC Champion of Champions tournament.

The US Championship will take place May 14 - 25 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. The tournament will include 24 of the top players in the country competing for the title and share of the $170,000 prize fund.

The 24 invited players include:

• The defending U.S. Champion - GM Hikaru Nakamura
• The winner of the 2009 U.S. Senior Open Championship - GM Larry Christiansen
• The winner of the 2009 U.S. Junior Championship - GM Ray Robson
• The top five qualifiers from the 2009 U.S. Open Championship - GM-elect Alex Lenderman, GMs Sergey Kudrin, Alex Yermolinsky, Dmitry Gurevich, and Jesse Kraai
• The winner of the 2010 ICC State Champion of Champions - IM Levon Altounian
• The top 11 U.S. players by rating of the United States Chess Federation:

GM Gata Kamsky
GM Alexander Onischuk
GM Varuzhan Akobian
GM Yury Shulman
GM Jaan Ehlvest
GM Alexander Shabalov
GM Gregory Kaidanov
GM Robert Hess
GM Melikset Khachiyan
GM Joel Benjamin
GM Ben Finegold

• Four wildcard spots - TBD

Congratulations, Levon and good luck!!!

Arizona State Scholastic Chess Championships

The 2010 Arizona State Scholastic Chess Championships are being held in Tucson at the Holiday Inn - Palo Verde on April 23-25. A flier for the event with tournament details is available at the SACA website.

In order to play in the event, players much first qualify. Qualification requirements are as follows:

To play in the AZ State Scholastic Championships, a player must qualify a “slot” at a Regional Qualifier. A school may bring the number of players equal to the number of slots qualified at all regionals +1; a team qualifying exactly two in a section may bring 4 players in that section. Players in: K-1 who wish to qualify for the K-1 section do so by either playing four rounds OR by scoring three points, in any section of any qualifier; Primary, Elementary & Junior High must score at least 3 points at a qualifier; High School do not have to qualify.

The last remaining chance to qualify in Tucson is the Tucson Scholastics (RQ 2), being held March 27 at Harelson Elementary. There are other qualifiers being held throughout the state and players in the Southern Region are allowed to play in those events. Contact us if you need a list of other qualifiers being held in the state.

Registration for the event can be done online at the SACA website. Select the tournament in the left side bar and registration information will load in the main frame. USCF membership is required for this event. You can check the status of your USCF membership here. If you need to join USCF or renew your membership you can do it online at the USCF website.

The special room rate at the Holiday Inn is $69/night (single/double) and $89/night for a suite. Mention "SACA" or "chess tournament" when you reserve your rooms. The phone number for the hotel is (520) 746-1161. You can also book your rooms online.

This is also a Blitz tournament Friday, April 23. Registration for that event is also available at the SACA website. There are no qualification requirements. USCF membership is required as well.

Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this event.