U.S. National Championships Preview

The 2023 U.S. Senior, U.S. Junior, and U.S. Girls' Junior National Championships begin this weekend at the Saint Louis Chess Club.

The three ten-player Round Robins will be played concurrently from July 15 to 25 (with a rest day on Thursday, July 20). The Junior and Girls' Junior championships are open to American players under the age of 20, and the Senior is open to players age 50 and over.

courtesy SLCC / Crystal Fuller

Neither GM Christopher Yoo or WGM Jennifer Yu — the Junior and Girls' Junior 2022 champions, respectively — will be competing this year, meaning that at least two of the three events will feature new champions. GM Alexander Shabalov will attempt to defend his 2022 title, which he earned in a thrilling five-way tiebreak playoff.

The events boast a total prize fund of $135,600 between the three events, plus additional scholarships. The sole first place winner of the U.S. Junior and the U.S. Girls' Junior will each be awarded a $10,000 scholarship to be used at an institution of their choice. The scholarships are jointly funded by the Dewain Barber Foundation and US Chess.

The youngest grandmaster in history (courtesy Lennart Ootes)

In the Junior Championship, New Jersey 19-year-old GM Brandon Jacobson is the highest rated competitor in the field, boasting a 2643 US Chess rating. Only three points (and five years!) behind him is fellow Garden State resident GM Abhimanyu Mishra. Among the other challengers, 16-year-old IM Arthur Guo has been on a tear recently, earning his third GM norm in Hungary. IM Josiah Stearman, who is the oldest participant in the field, has also had a fantastic few months, earning his first GM norm as well as qualifying for the 2023 World Cup.

IM Carissa Yip (courtesy FIDE / Lennart Ootes)

In the Girls' Junior Championship, 19-year-old IM Carissa Yip is returning to competitive chess after taking the academic year off during her first year at Stanford University. The Olympian is also gearing up for the World Cup. Her fiercest rivals are most likely FM Alice Lee and FM Ruiyang Yan, who have taken on a rivalry of their own in recent years. The 13-year-old Lee recently earned her final IM norm, breaking Yip's record for youngest American woman to earn three IM norms.

GM Alexander Shabalov (courtesy SLCC / Ootes)

The Senior Championship once again reads as a "who's who" of the state of U.S. Chess over the past few decades. While Shabalov returns to defend his title, three of the four players he tied with will be out for revenge. Only GM Larry Christiansen is missing this year's festivities, with GMs Dmitry Gurevich, Vladimir Akopian, and Maxim Dlugy coming back for more.

Games will be broadcast live on Chess.com and LiChess.org, and they will also be streamed live with commentary on Twitch.

Chess Life Online will also be providing detailed annotations of each round's best games, with all coverage available here.