Kasparov & Short in St. Louis this coming Monday

Another cut-and-paste from my email.  One correction to my earlier post: the under-$100 entry fee for this weekend's tournament is only available to club members: it's $20 more for non-members.  In the weekend tournament, GMs Gurevich, Shulman, and Amanov, and IM Young will be among those representing Chicagoland.

Kasparov and Short in St. Lou after Thanksgiving Tourney

SAINT LOUIS, November 23, 2010 – Grandmaster Garry Kasparov, widely recognized as the world’s greatest chess player, has announced he will be making an appearance at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis on Monday, November 29, just one day after the conclusion of the Thanksgiving Open tourney featuring renowned GM Nigel Short and an $11,000 prize fund.

Kasparov, who is coming to Saint Louis to deliver a political lecture, will make an appearance at the CCSCSL from 4-5 p.m. The club has arranged a special setting in which club members and the general public can meet and greet the living legend.

Short, who was already scheduled to conduct a special lecture and simul beginning at 6 p.m., will also be in attendance. His lecture is free for club members but will cost the general public $10. The simul, scheduled to follow the lecture at 7:30 p.m., has been capped at 30 participants, but those interested can still submit their name for the wait list.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet two of the best players in the world, who once battled one another for the World Chess Championship title in 1993.

The festivities follow the largest prize fund tournament ever offered by the CCSCSL excluding a U.S. Championship event. The Thanksgiving Open, which takes place November 26-29, features an $11,000 prize fund, and two-day and three-day options are available to make the tournament easily accessible for all.

In addition to Short, a host of other titled players have committed including:

    * Resident GM Ben Finegold
    * GM Yury Shulman
    * GM Alex Onischuk
    * GM Ray Robson
    * GM Gregory Kaidanov
    * GM Dmitry Gurevich
    * GM Timur Gareev
    * GM Mesgen Amanov
    * IM Michael Brooks
    * IM Istvan Sipos
    * IM Angelo Young
    * IM Raja Panjwani
    * WGM Sabina Foisor
    * WIM Alisa Melekhina

Registration costs $119 for the three-day option and $118 for the two-day option. There will be a re-entry option available for $60.

This event will be a FIDE-rated, six-round, G/120 event in three sections: Open, U1800 and U1400. The prize breakdown is as follows:

Open:
    * Overall: $1,600-$1,000-$600-$400
    * U2400: $550-$450
    * U2200: $500-$300
    * U2000: $450-$250

U1800:
    * Overall: $1,000-$500-$300
    * U1600: $450-$250

U1400:
    * Overall: $1,000-$500-$300
    * U1200: $250-$150
    * U1000: $225-$125

Don’t miss your opportunity to meet two living legends and play in a fantastic tournament in Saint Louis. For more information, please call 314.361.CHESS (2437) or visit www.saintlouischessclub.org