Press Release by John Henderson

2003 AF4C US Chess Championships, 9-18 January Northwest Rooms, Seattle.

Round 7; Show me the money.

The chess world has had, over the years, many patrons who have helped showcase the game by hosting and financing top tournaments. Going back in time, perhaps the most famous was Baron Albert Freiherr von Rothschild, he of the famed banking dynasty, who financed the Vienna tournaments of 1873, 1882, 1898 and 1903.

In the US, many of the top elite invitational tournaments have come via chess patrons, such as the Piatigorskys, who sponsored in Los Angeles both the great 1963 (won by Keres and Petrosian) and 1966 (won by Spassky ahead of Fischer) tournaments, and San Antonio 1972 (won by Karpov, Portisch and Petrosian), by Bill Church, a founder and long-time Chairman of North America's successful fast food outlet, Church's Chicken.

Erik Anderson, Yvette Nagel Seirawan and Scott Oki

In early 2000, when it looked as if the USCF were about to cancel the US Championships, a chance remark one afternoon between two friends, Yasser Seirawan and venture capitalist Erik Anderson, saved the day. The conversation between Yasser and Erik soon got around to the Championships as Yasser explained the sad tale of its demise. "No, we just can't allow that," said Anderson with his business head on. "The Championships has to be our most important event in the US. We'll have to do it!"

Showing that with determination just about anything can happen at short notice, they soon got together with former Microsoft executive Scott Oki, Dr. Jim Roberts and a few others to set up the Seattle Chess Foundation (which went on to become the AF4C), who stepped in at the last minute to not only rescue the Championships but also secured its future.

This year the prize fund has been increased to a record $253,000. While this is a fantastic amount for the players to be playing for, you also have to realize that the running costs of a prestigious event such as the US Championships comes to nearly another $100,000 (it just doesn't happen, you know: legal costs, staff costs, venue, promotion, equipment etc.). Go take a good look at our sponsors page on the AF4C website (http://www.af4c.org/uschamps_sponsors.asp), and also from some of the pictures of the banners displayed in the playing hall, and you'll see that this year we have a very diverse group helping to fund the event in one way or another.

Our title sponsors are a group of chiropractors who have formed a new organization: Chiropractors for a Healthy Mind and Body (CFHMB), comprised of three prominent doctors from across the United States: Dr. Deborah Adams, Dr. Ben Lerner and Dr. Mark S. Kimes. Through their allegiance they are looking to support activities that inspire young people to realize their full potential - mentally and physically. Their first demonstration of community goodwill has gone to support the U.S. Chess Championships. Chiropractors for a Healthy Mind and Body have donated $25,000. This donation was kindly matched by an anonymous donor, making the Chiropractic Association's contribution an extraordinary $50,000.

Our presenting sponsor is the US No.1 top-selling chess software program Chessmaster, produced by Ubi Soft Entertainment. Again they are demonstrating their continued support for US Chess by contributing $25,000 to the US Championships. "Chessmaster is committed to bringing chess to adults and children alike. With the help of America's Foundation for Chess, we are generating greater interest in the game by showcasing the United States' best players. Together, we are bringing chess to more Americans every day." - Laurent Detoc, President of Ubi Soft Entertainment.

There are other sponsors for the event, such as: Alaska Airlines, who donated $5,000 worth of airline tickets; Starbucks' contribution of over $1,000 worth of free catering during play for the players; and top jewelers Bailey, Banks and Biddle contributing towards two 18K gold Raymond Weil watches (valued at $1,500 each) that will be presented to the two title winners. All of these contributions help in many ways, but the biggest single contributor has been Erik Anderson himself, who believes that by hosting this tournament of elites, chess will be established as a valued component of American culture.

Recently Erik was interviewed by Chess FM on the sponsoring of the US Championships (his interview has been running daily throughout the Championships at http://www.chess.fm/). He said he felt that more can be done by wealthy chess fans like himself. There are many like Erik out there who have a genuine love for the game. The AF4C is a 501 (c) non profit organization, so therefore any contributions received are tax deductible. It could be that some members may even have access to corporate connections that would help generate further sponsorship for a future Championships, or even help out with more qualifying events. If so, then we'd like to hear from you.

Even at the grassroots level, I believe that much can be done to make us ALL contribute towards the well-being of the US Championships, one of the most historic of national titles. The USCF (which each year receives $5,000 from the AF4C for the right to stage the Championships) made a wise decision in outsourcing the Championships to the AF4C, who in turn have added a professional touch to the event. Recently the USCF announced a rise in their membership figures to 95,000. Now, as the Championships have been stabalized under the control of the AF4C, perhaps this is the time to suggest that ordinary members take an interest in securing the event for good.

If every member of the USCF donated simply $1 per year to the Championships, then together with leading sponsors such as Erik Anderson, Chriropractors for a Healthy Mind and Chessmaster we could secure well into the future the Championships rather than be left in the silly situation of having to cancel the event, as the USCF were forced to do in 2000.

If you think you could contribute in anyway, either directly or through opening doors with an introduction to a potential major corporate sponsor, please contact us directly at info@af4c.org

ROUND SEVEN 1 GM Alexander Shabalov 1-0 GM Alex Fishbein; 2 GM Alexander Stripunsky draw GM Gregory Kaidanov; 3 GM Alexander Ivanov draw GM Boris Gulko; 4 GM Yasser Seirawan draw IM Hikaru Nakamura; 5 FM Igor Foygel draw GM Joel Benjamin; 6 IM Varuzhan Akobian draw FM Stephen Muhammad; 7 IM Eugene Perelshteyn draw WIM Tsagaan Battsetseg; 8 GM Alex Yermolinsky draw IM Boris Kreiman; 9 GM Alexander Goldin 1-0 IM Michael Mulyar; 10 GM Dmitry Gurevich draw GM Larry Christiansen; 11 FM Tegshsuren Enkhbat 1-0 WGM Kamile Baginskaite; 12 GM John Fedorowicz 1-0 IM Jesse Kraai; 13 GM Gennadi Zaitshik 0-1 IM Greg Shahade; 14 IM Justin Sarkar draw GM Walter Browne; 15 IM Stanislav Kriventsov 0-1 WIM Jennifer Shahade; 16 IM Ron Burnett draw IM Ben Finegold; 17 IM William Paschall draw GM Nick De Firmian; 18 FM Aaron Pixton 0-1 GM Gregory Serper; 19 WGM Elena Donaldson 1-0 WIM Esther Epstein; 20 WIM Anna Hahn draw IM Dean Ippolito; 21 GM Anatoly Lein draw IM Yury Lapshun; 22 GM Maurice Ashley draw IM John Watson; 23 33 IM John Donaldson 1-0 GM Sergey Kudrin; 24 IM Larry Kaufman 1-0 FM Allan Bennett; 25 WIM Olga Sagalchik 0-1 WGM Irina Krush; 26 David Pruess 1-0 WFM Laura Ross; 27 FM Gregory Markzon 1-0 WIM Elina Groberman; 28 Julia Shiber draw Anna Levina; 29 Marc Esserman 1-0 WIM Cindy Tsai.

STANDINGS 1 Shabalov 5.5/7; 2 Kaidanov 5; 3-17 Goldin, Gulko, Seirawan, Benjamin, Stripunsky, Yermolinsky, Akobian, Ivanov, Nakamura, Fedorowicz, Kreiman, Fishbein, Foygel, G. Shahade, Muhammad 4.5; 18-25 Christiansen, Serper, Browne, Gurevich, Mulyar, J. Donaldson, Burnett, Sarkar 4; 26-37 De Firmian, Finegold, Zaitshik, Lapshun, Perelshteyn, Kraai, Enkhbat, Paschall, Lein, Kaufman, J Shahade, Battsetseg 3.5; 38-45 Kudrin, Ashley, Pixton, E. Donaldson, Krush, Watson, Pruess, Markzon 3; 46-51 Kriventsov, Ippolito, Baginskaite, Bennett, Hahn, Shiber 2.5; 52-55 Epstein, Sagalchik, Ross, Groberman 2; 56-57 Esserman, Levina 1.5; 58 Tsai 1.

You can follow all 29 games live over the Internet at: http://www.af4c.org