120th US Open Kicks off August in Orlando

UPDATE 8/3: For those playing in the National Senior Tournament of Champions - please note that the opening ceremony starts at 2pm in Salon 5-6. This is different from what is listed in the newsletter. - US Chess

The 120th US Open in Orlando begins on Saturday, August 3rd, with a 22-board simultaneous exhibition from reigning US Women's Champion Jennifer Yu. The 17-year-old champ will face participants in the Denker Tournament of High School Champions, Barber Tournament of K-8 Champions, and Ruth Haring National Girls Tournament of Champions. The simul will also feature a special guest, which will be unveiled on our twitter feed Saturday morning @USChess. Top seeds in the Denker tournament include FM Ben Li (MI), IM elect Sahil Sinha, IM Bryce Tiglon (WA) and NM Aydin Turgut (IN). National High School co-champ Matthew Stevens (Illinois) is also in the mix.

Top seeds in the Barber include CM Robert Shlyakhtenko, IM Arthur Guo (Georgia), FM Jason Wang (Ohio) and FM Shunkai Peng (Oregon) WFM Martha Samadashvili of NY is the top seed in the Ruth Haring NGTOC, while other top contenders include WGM Sasha Konovalenko (MI) and WCM Marissa Li (IL).

The National Senior Tournament of Champions field boasts two Grandmasters, Enrico Sevillano of Southern California and John Fedorowicz of New York. The US Open features a traditional schedule, a six-day schedule and a four-day schedule,so many players from the quartet of invitationals will jump into the prestigious Swiss next week. There are also workshops, a US Chess Annual awards luncheon on Saturday, and many side events, including blitz, bughouse and even a tennis event. Download a handy schedule here.