St. Louis, Missouri October 15-19, 2013 GM/IM norm opportunity - Minimum rating (FIDE) 2100 Limited to first 50 entries 4 IM/GM norms were earned last year: http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com PRIZES: $11,000 guaranteed $4,000-$2,000-$1,500-$1,000-$500 U/2400 FIDE $500-$250-$125 U/2300 FIDE $500-$250-$125 top female $250 October 2013 rating will be used ENTRY FEES: Free to all GMs, IMs, WGMs and all FIDE rated players over 2300 (must complete all 9 rounds), if registered by September 30, 2013. $50 later or on site. $100 to others if received by September 30, 2013. $150 later or on site. VENUE: Crown Plaza Clayton Hotel 7750 Carondelet Ave, St Louis, MO 63105 (FREE shuttle from the Lambert–St. Louis International Airport) $109/night, FREE Breakfast/Internet Send entries to
Webster University students swept the the top three spots in the 2012 SPICE Cup Open, held Oct. 12 – 21 in St. Louis. Forty-two players — 22 from countries outside the U.S. — answered the invitation to participate in one of the strongest open tournaments in the United States this year. After nine grueling rounds, students from Webster University pulled off another improbable feat by sweeping the top three spots. Ray Robson, 17-year-old freshman grandmaster, former U.S. Junior Champion and member of the U.S. National Team, finished with an undefeated 7-2 score (5 wins, 4 draws, 0 loss) to capture the SPICE Cup Open title. This is an impressive score for the young phenom in an incredibly strong event. Since coming to Webster just a few months ago, his chess rating has reached a new career high.
Another freshman, grandmaster Fidel Corrales Jimenez, the 3rd-ranked player from Cuba, finished in 2nd place with a 6.5-2.5 score (4 wins, 5 draw, 0 loss). Fidel recently captured two big titles, the Missouri State Rapid and Blitz Championships. He is also the 3rd ranked player on the Webster University Chess Team. International master Vitaly Neimer (Israel), a sophomore, was a member of the national collegiate championship team from Texas Tech last year. He transferred to Webster University to continue with the SPICE program. He finished in third place.
Neimer’s Inspiring Story
Neimer actually tied for third with grandmasters Alejandro Ramirez (Costa Rica) and Victor Mikhalevski (Israel) but edged them out on tiebreaks. “As a young talented junior player from Israel, Neimer’s chess career was slowed down because he had to take a break to fulfill his military service requirement,” says Paul Truong, SPICE marketing director. “After transferring to Webster University, Neimer is determined to take his chess to the next level.” “Each day after completing his daily homework and assignments, Neimer is off to the SPICE office at midnight by himself to use our professional chess library and super computer loaded with the latest chess database (over 6 million top level games), and the most powerful commercial chess software. He sometimes spent five to six hours a night analyzing countless positions and building up his opening repertoire.” Neimer’s hard work paid off as he scored 6-3 (3 wins, 6 draws, 0 loss) against the toughest schedule at the SPICE Cup (facing eight grandmasters in nine games) to earn his 1st grandmaster norm. He now needs two more grandmaster norms to become a grandmaster.
This event will be held alongside with the SPICE Cup Invitational (expected to be FIDE category 18 which is the highest rated International RR tournament in US history!)
- GM Le Quang Liem (Vietnam) - defending champion & #1 in Vietnam - GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) - Former World Junior Champion & French Champion - GM Ding Liren (China) - 3-time & reigning champion of China, #3 junior in the world - GM Csaba Balogh (Hungary) - Member of the Hungarian National Team - GM Wesley So (Philippines) - #1 in the Philippines & Webster University freshman - GM Georg Meier (Germany) - European Team Champion & Webster University sophomore
Entry fee: $100 to non GM / IM, which will be fully refunded at the conclusion of the tournament if the player completes all 9 rounds (to discourage withdrawal and byes).
Limited free double occupancy accommodations available for GMs if registered by September 20, 2012 (must complete all 9 rounds)
Playing Venue: Sheraton Clayton Plaza Hotel 7730 Bonhomme Avenue St. Louis, MO 63105 (FREE shuttle from the Lambert – St. Louis International Airport) - $89/night chess rate
Schedule: October 16-19 @ 10 am & 4 pm, October 20 @ 10 am
Time Control: Game in 90 minutes with a 30 second increment starting at move 1. Registration: Open to the first forty (40) 2300+ FIDE rated players / maximum 40 players. Registration will be closed by September 20, 2012. Organizer reserves the right to make a few exceptions.
Check or money order payable to: Webster University (Attention: SPICE - Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence) 470 E. Lockwood Avenue Webster Groves, MO 63119-3141
Please include your name, contact info, FIDE ID and rating, etc. For questions, email SusanPolgar@aol.com
Registered titled players so far (13 GMs, 14 IMs, 1 IM-elect, 21 foreigners, etc.):
Corrales Jimenez
Fidel
Cuba
GM
2612
Leon Hoyos
Manuel
Mexico
GM
2605
Robson
Ray
USA
GM
2598
Shulman
Yury
USA
GM
2595
Ramirez
Alejandro
USA
GM
2570
Mikhalevksi
Victor
Israel
GM
2538
Perelshteyn
Eugene
USA
GM
2529
Bykhosvky
Anatoly
Israel
GM
2527
Charbonneau
Pascal
Canada
GM
2517
Amanov
Mesgen
Turkmenistan
GM
2498
Finegold
Ben
USA
GM
2493
Mogranzini
Roberto
Italy
IM
2492
Molner
Mackenzie
USA
IM
2489
Yang
Darwin
USA
IM
2486
Boros
Denes
Hungary
GM
2485
Diamant
Andre
Brazil
GM
2473
Smith
Bryan
USA
IM
2452
Bartholomew
John
USA
IM
2446
Kiewra
Keaton
USA
IM
2421
Bartell
Tom
USA
FM
2417
Kannappan
Priyadharshan
India
IM
2407
Sakar
Justin
USA
IM
2392
Fierro (W)
Martha
Ecuador
IM
2384
Kleiman
Jake
USA
IM
2377
Ostrovskiy
Aleksandr
USA
FM
2377
Neimer
Vitaly
Israel
IM
2373
Amanov
Zhanibek
Kazakhstan
IM
2373
Bregadze
Levan
Georgia
IM
2366
Young
Angelo
Philippines
IM
2338
Schneider (W)
Veronika
Hungary
WGM
2313
Boor
Carl
USA
FM
2312
Banawa
Jake
USA
FM
2300
Troff
Kayden
USA
IM-e
2300
Jayakumar
Adarsh
USA
FM
2297
Hambleton
Aman
Canada
FM
2293
Kavutskiy
Konstantin
USA
FM
2284
Sharevich (W)
Anna
Belarus
WGM
2261
Heredia (W)
Carla
Ecuador
WIM
2220
Agrest (W)
Inna
Sweden
WIM
2214
Jung
Hans
Canada
FM
2200
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS EVENT!
This event will be held alongside with the SPICE Cup Invitational (expected to be FIDE category 17-18)
Entry fee: $100 to non GM / IM, which will be fully refunded at the conclusion of the tournament if the player completes all 9 rounds (to discourage withdrawal and byes).
Limited free double occupancy accommodations available for GMs if registered by September 15, 2012 (must complete all 9 rounds)
Playing Venue: Sheraton Clayton Plaza Hotel 7730 Bonhomme Avenue St. Louis, MO 63105 (FREE shuttle from the Lambert – St. Louis International Airport) - $89/night chess rate
Schedule: October 16-19 @ 10 am & 4 pm, October 20 @ 10 am
Time Control: Game in 90 minutes with a 30 second increment starting at move 1. Registration: Open to the first forty (40) 2300+ FIDE rated players / maximum 40 players. Registration will be closed by September 17, 2012. Organizer reserves the right to make a few exceptions.
Check or money order payable to: Webster University (Attention: SPICE - Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence) 470 E. Lockwood Avenue Webster Groves, MO 63119-3141
Please include your name, contact info, FIDE ID and rating, etc. For questions, email SusanPolgar@aol.com
Registered titled players so far:
Corrales Jimenez
Fidel
Cuba
GM
2612
Leon Hoyos
Manuel
Mexico
GM
2579
Perelshteyn
Eugene
USA
GM
2529
Bykhosvky
Anatoly
Israel
GM
2527
Finegold
Ben
USA
GM
2493
Mogranzini
Roberto
Italy
IM
2492
Yang
Darwin
USA
IM
2486
Boros
Denes
Hungary
GM
2485
Diamant
Andre
Brazil
GM
2473
Bartholomew
John
USA
IM
2446
Sakar
Justin
USA
IM
2392
Fierro (W)
Martha
Ecuador
IM
2384
Kleiman
Jake
USA
IM
2377
Neimer
Vitaly
Israel
IM
2373
Young
Angelo
USA
IM
2338
Schneider (W)
Veronika
Hungary
WGM
2313
Boor
Carl
USA
FM
2312
Banawa
Jake
USA
FM
2300
Troff
Kayden
USA
IM
2300
Jayakumar
Adarsh
USA
FM
2300
Kavutskiy
Konstantin
USA
FM
2300
Agrest (W)
Inna
Sweden
WIM
2253
Jung
Hans
Canada
FM
2200
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS EVENT!
