2019 Pan-Am Youth Qualifiers Announced

Contact: Pete Karagianis US Chess Director of Events pete.karagianis@uschess.org The US Chess Federation is pleased to announce that twelve players have qualified as Official Representatives to represent the United States in their age categories at the 2019 Pan American Youth Chess Championships scheduled for July 20 – 27 in Guayaquil, Ecuador. These players earned this honor by achieving the highest rating in their age and gender categories according to US Chess’s February 2019 rating supplement. These players are considered the Official U.S. Representatives in their age groups.  In addition, thirteen players who qualified on the basis of their gold medal performances at the 2018 Pan American Youth or 2018 North American Youth Championships have earned the right to be Personal Rights Representatives of the U.S. for the 2019 Pan American Youth Championship. If an Official Representative (listed below) in an age category declines to attend, then the highest rated player, according to the US Chess February 2019 rating supplement, in that category who is registered and fully paid with the US Chess Office by May 17th, 2019 will be considered the Official Representative. All players, including official representatives, personal rights players, and additional players, who plan to attend must be registered and fully paid with the US Chess office by the May 17 deadline. Official representatives and personal rights players receive a travel stipend and free coaching, and are reimbursed for hotel, entry fees, and administrative fees.  Travel and all fees for accompanying persons are the player’s responsibility.  Any “extra” players are responsible for all fees, plus a US Chess administrative fee, and are welcome to pay for coaching. The Pan American Youth is an open tournament for players who live in the Americas.  Any US Chess member who meets the age requirement for an age group may play. Players register for the tournament with the organizers and through US Chess.  A player’s age for this tournament is his/her age as of January 1, 2019.  Only the Official U.S. Representatives and Personal Rights players from the previous Pan American Youth are eligible to receive financial support from US Chess.  Find more information on US Chess scholastic invitational requirements. As the national federation, US Chess completes the registration with the tournament organizers for all U.S. players. For registration and payment details, please contact Pete Karagianis, US Chess Assistant Director of Events, at pete.karagianis@uschess.org.  Qualified players listed below should also contact Mr. Karagianis. More information about international youth events can be found here.   Congratulations to the following players who have qualified as the Official U.S. Representatives to the 2019 Pan American Youth Championships!   U8 Open – Dhruva Patil – FL U8 Girls – Whitney Tse – NY U10 Open – Abhimanyu Mishra – NJ U10 Girls – Rachael Li – TX U12 Open – Liran Zhou – NY U12 Girls – Rui Yang Yan – CA U14 Open – Justin Wang – TX U14 Girls – Rochelle Wu – CA U16 Open – Awonder Liang – WI U16 Girls – Carissa Shiwen Yip – MA U18 Open – John Michael Burke – NJ U18 Girls – Jennifer Yu – VA These players achieved gold medals at the 2018 Pan American Youth or 2018 North American Youth Championships and are team members qualifying by Personal Rights: Omya Vidyarthi – CA Sophie Velea – WA Anne-Marie Velea – WA Maximillian Lu – CT Rohan Rajaram - CA Jocelyn Chen - CA Bryan Xie - CA Sara Gupta - CA Adrian Kondakov - CA Melina Li - WA Aasa Dommalapati - VA Minda Chen - WA Joanna Liu - AZ