Match of the Millennials Announces U.S. and World Team Delegations

Match of the Millennials Announces U.S. and World Team Delegations Americas best juniors face off against the best from around the world July 26-29   ST. LOUIS, July 24, 2017 - The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL), in cooperation with the Kasparov Chess Foundation (KCF), U.S. Chess Federation, World Chess Federation (FIDE) and FIDE Trainers’ Commission are proud to announce the U.S. and World Team players for the Match of the Millennials. Hosted at the CCSCSL from July 26th through the 29th, nine American players will face the nine best juniors from around the world. “We are thrilled to host this tournament showcasing some of the best junior players from not only the United States but from around the world” said Tony Rich, executive director of the Saint Louis Chess Club. “This demonstrates that Saint Louis is becoming the epicenter of chess world-wide.” The Match of the Millennials tournament is not only unique in the young players representing all corners of the world, but also in its format. Across the four days of the tournament, players will compete in two rounds starting at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Each round will have eight games total, four from a U17 (under 17 years old) section and four in the U14 (under 14 years old) section.  In addition to the bragging rights, teams will be vying for top honors and the $30,000 prize fund. The winning team will receive $20,000, while the runner-up will receive $10,000. Prizes will be split evenly should the match end in a tie. The prize fund is sponsored by the Saint Louis Chess Club, whose impact over the last 10 years has transformed American chess.  All games can be viewed live at uschesschamps.com with commentary by chess Grandmaster Alejandro Ramirez, Woman Grandmaster Jennifer Shahade, and the colorful commentary of Grandmaster Maurice Ashley on the smartboard. U.S. Team Captains: Michael Khodarkovsky and Armen Ambartsumian; Coach Alex Onischuk Team Name FIDE Rating Age Home Country Federation U17 Jeffery Xiong 2642 17 U.S.A. U.S.A. U17 Sam Sevian 2633 16 U.S.A. U.S.A. U17 Ruifeng Li 2568 15 U.S.A. U.S.A. U17 John Michael Burke 2479 15 U.S.A. U.S.A. U17 Nicolas Checa 2415 16 U.S.A. U.S.A. U14 Awonder Liang 2536 14 U.S.A. U.S.A. U14 Andrew Hong 2334 12 U.S.A. U.S.A. U14 Carissa Yip 2261 13 U.S.A. U.S.A. U14 Martha Samadashvili 2018 13 U.S.A. U.S.A. World Team Captains: Efstratios Grivas (Greece) and Alexander Beliavsky (Slovenia), Head of delegation/Coach Zurab Azmaiparashvili (Georgia). Team Name FIDE Rating Age Home Country Federation U17 Haik Martirosyan 2544 17 Armenia ARM U17 Andrey Esipenko 2523 15 Russia RUS U17 Aleksey Sarana 2510 17 Russia RUS U17 Anton Smirnov 2495 16 Australia AUS U17 Aryan Chopra 2491 16 India IND U14 Praggnanandhaa Ramesh Babu 2479 12 India IND U14 Nodirbek Abdusattorov 2467 13 Uzbekistan UZB U14 Bibisara Assaubayeva 2386 13 Russia RUS U14 Nurgyul Salimova 2332 14 Bulgaria FIDE ------------------------- About The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that is committed to making chess an important part of our community. In addition to providing a forum for the community to play tournaments and casual games, the Club also offers chess improvement classes, beginner lessons and special lectures. Recognizing the cognitive and behavioral benefits of chess, the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis is committed to supporting those chess programs that already exist in area schools while encouraging the development of new in-school and after-school programs. For more information, visit www.saintlouischessclub.org.   About the U.S. Chess Federation The US Chess Federation (US Chess) is the official governing body and not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization for chess players and chess supporters in the United States. Our mission is to empower people through chess one move at a time. Our vision is to enrich the lives of all persons and communities through increasing the play, study, and appreciation of the game of chess. For more information, visit www.uschess.org.   About the Kasparov Chess Foundation Founded by World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, KCF’s mission is to bring the many educational benefits of chess to children worldwide by providing a complete chess curriculum and enrichment programs. The Foundation promotes the study of chess as a cognitive learning tool in curricular classes and after-school programs for elementary, middle and high schools, both in the public and private school sectors. The not-for-profit Foundation also organizes regional, national, and worldwide tournaments, programs for talented students, and promotional chess events. For more information, visit www.kasparovchessfoundation.org.   About the World Chess Federation Founded in Paris on 20 July 1924, the World Chess Federation (Federation Internationale des Echecs, known as FIDE from its French acronym) was recognized by the International Olympic Committee as an International Sports Federation in 1999. With 188 member federations, FIDE is among the biggest sports organizations in the world, very proud of over forty official championships for youngsters, men, women and seniors. For more information, visit www.fide.com.   About the FIDE Trainers’ Commission The FIDE Trainers’ Commission is responsible for testing and licensing of chess trainers worldwide. For more information, visit trainers.fide.com.