Chess champions crowned

Polgar: Chess champions crowned in three events at Texas Tech
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Story last updated at 8/3/2008 - 3:46 am

The Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls, the most prestigious all-girls chess event, concluded on Friday.

In addition to the overall championship, there were three other competitions: SPNI Chess Puzzle Solving Championship, SPNI Blitz Championship, and SPNI Bughouse Championship.

The first completed event was the SPNI Chess Puzzle Solving Championship. Forty players took part in this competition. All players were given 10 identical chess puzzles to solve in 30 minutes ranging from checkmate in one to checkmate in five moves. Fifteen players solved all 10 puzzles correctly. They are:

• Rebekah Liu (California) 10 in 5 minutes 26 seconds
• Rheanna English (Texas) 10 in 6:55
• Fiona Lam (Maryland) 10 in 6:56
• Rita Mirchandani (Florida) 10 in 9:21
• Amelia Wheeless (North Carolina) 10 in 12:41
• Sonya Vohra (Illinois) 10 in 13:17
• Shinan Jin (Pennsylvania) 10 in 13:29
• Ashbea Oyadomari (Hawaii) 10 in 13:41
• Alexa Lasley (Colorado) 10 in 13:44
• Nisha Deolalikar (California) 10 in 13:47
• Mira Ensley-Field (Wisconsin) 10 in 16:50
• Hannah Helwig (Alabama) 10 in 18:05
• Morgan Mahowald (Minnesota) 10 in 18:42
• Rebecca DeLand (New Mexico) 10 in 24:45
• Susan Brown (Virginia) 10 in 25:18

The second completed event was the SPNI Blitz Championship. In this event, Ashley Carter of Michigan and Janice Chen of Utah tied for first with the score of 4.5 points in 5 games.

Chen, a high school senior from Utah, won the Susan Polgar World Open Championship for Girls in Las Vegas last year. She was awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Texas Tech University.

Carter, a 3.96 GPA student from Michigan, will be attending the University of Michigan in the fall. However, she is planning to transfer to Texas Tech the following semester. Carter is also the only five-time qualifier of the Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls.
Here were the Top 10 finishers out of 40 players:

• 1-2 Janice Chen (Utah) 1772 4.5
• 1-2 Ashley Carter (Michigan) 1877 4.5

Here is the full article.