Anna Zatonskih raves about her Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis experience on Alexandra Kosteniuk’s acclaimed CHESSBLOG.COM

Live news broadcast interview with Anna Zatonskih after she won the 2009 US Women’s Chess Championship

The 2009 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship, held at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, already had a clear winner going into the final round, but there was heavy drama in the battle for money, place and qualification for other tournaments.

Professional chess player Battsetseg Tsaagan discusses her play style, the 2009 US Women’s Championship and her goals in competitive chess

Anna Zatonskih clinched her second consecutive U.S. Women’s Chess Championship by defeating Sabina Foisor in round eight of the 2009 event. With one round remaining, she has acquired a near-perfect 7.5 out of 8 points and will win the record $15,000 first prize. No other woman has more than 5.5 so Tuesday’s final round will be for posterity, not place. Zatosnkih said she will still try hard.

Alisa Melekhina, the youngest player in the 2009 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship, talks with FM Mike Klein about her goals for this tournament, life as a chess celebrity and the crossovers between chess and ballet.

Sabina-Francesca Foisor talks about her chess games, the 2009 U.S. Women’s Championship and life as a young chess player from a family of competitive chess players.

Top-seeded Anna Zatonskih moved one step closer to winning the 2009 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship by defeating third-seeded Rusudan Goletiani in round seven. The tournament is being held at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. Zatonskih is still one point ahead of her nearest rival, as Camilla Baginskaite kept pace by also winning her game.

The entire field of 10 women all came perilously close to overstepping the time limit in round six of the 2009 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship, held at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, while the position of the leaders clarified. Forced to make their first 40 moves in two hours, many women were reduced to fewer than 30 seconds before crossing the threshold. In the end, all five games were decisive for the first time in the tournament.

A dozen area chess champions from Sperreng Middle School visited the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis on Friday to test their skills against two of the best female players in the country. The duo of Battsetseg Tsagaan and Camilla Baginskaite played a tandem simultaneous exhibition on their day off; the two women are in town competing in the 2009 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship.