2007 US Women's Chess Championship Preview

Ten top American women chess players will compete for the US Women's Chess Championship from July 16-20, in Stillwater, Okla. According to the official tournament site, the players will be competing for a total purse of $25,000, with $7,000 going to the champion.

International Master (IM) Irina Krush, 23, comes into the tournament as the top seed. Her USCF rating of 2497 puts her just ahead of IM Anna Zatonskih, rated 2491.

After the top two seeds, there is a significant rating drop before the third seed, Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Camilla Baginskaite, rated 2361.

The championship will be a nine round, round-robin tournament, with each player battling each of their rivals once. The opening ceremony will be held at 11 am on July 16, with two rounds of play following. The women will play two rounds each day through July 19, and will play the final round on the 20th. Players earn one point for every win, and a half point for each draw.

Spectators are welcome to view the tournament, which is being held at the Quality Inn. Games will also be simulcast live on the Internet. The time control will be game in 120 minutes, plus 30 seconds added to a player's time after every move.

Given their large rating advantage over the field, Krush and Zatonskih look to be the overwhelming co-favorites to win the championship. The biggest matchup of the tournament may come in round four, when Zatonskih is scheduled to have the white pieces against Krush. Unless the game is drawn, the winner should emerge as the woman to beat.

While it may be unlikely for the rest of the field to win the tournament, the other eight competitors still have much to play for.

The top three finishers will be invited to the Zonal qualifier for the Women's World Chess Championship. There is also prize money for every player, from the runner up's $5,000 prize, to the $1,000 given to the 7th through 10th-place finishers. In addition, Goddess Chess is sponsoring a $300 brilliancy prize for the tournament's best game.