Match of the Millennials in Saint Louis: Teams Announced

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.

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. All games can be viewed live at uschesschamps.com with commentary by WGM Jennifer Shahade, and the colorful commentary of GM Maurice Ashley on the smartboard.