Monday, August 31, 2009

USA September 2009 FIDE rating list


United States of America (All players)
# Name Title Fed Rating G B-Year
1 Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2735 17 1987
2 Onischuk, Alexander g USA 2699 0 1975
3 Kamsky, Gata g USA 2692 32 1974
4 Seirawan, Yasser g USA 2646 0 1960
5 Shulman, Yuri g USA 2638 9 1975
6 Akobian, Varuzhan g USA 2636 9 1983
7-8 Ehlvest, Jaan g USA 2607 28 1962
7-8 Shabalov, Alexander g USA 2607 26 1967
9 Gurevich, Ilya g USA 2586 0 1972
10 Kaidanov, Gregory S g USA 2583 0 1959
11 Christiansen, Larry M g USA 2578 0 1956
12-13 Ibragimov, Ildar g USA 2577 6 1967
12-13 Polgar, Zsuzsa (Susan)
g USA 2577 0 1969
14 Kudrin, Sergey g USA 2573 38 1959
15 Hess, Robert L g USA 2572 27 1991
16 Benjamin, Joel g USA 2566 17 1964
17 Wolff, Patrick G g USA 2564 0 1968
18 Novikov, Igor A g USA 2560 0 1962
19 Goldin, Alexander g USA 2557 0 1965
20 Friedel, Joshua E g USA 2555 19 1986
21-22 Stripunsky, Alexander g USA 2553 16 1970
21-22 De Firmian, Nick E g USA 2553 10 1957
23-24 Alburt, Lev O g USA 2550 0 1945
23-24 Dzindzichashvili, Roman g USA 2550 0 1944
25 Ivanov, Alexander g USA 2549 29 1956
26 Gulko, Boris F g USA 2546 0 1947
27-28 Lenderman, Alex m USA 2542 39 1989
27-28 Perelshteyn, Eugene g USA 2542 17 1980
29 Wilder, Michael g USA 2540 0 1962
30-31 Becerra Rivero, Julio g USA 2533 17 1973
30-31 Schwartzman, Gabriel g USA 2533 0 1976
32-33 Khachiyan, Melikset g USA 2528 11 1970
32-33 Yermolinsky, Alex g USA 2528 8 1958
34-35 Robson, Ray m USA 2527 25 1994
34-35 Kavalek, Lubomir g USA 2527 0 1943
36 Kraai, Jesse g USA 2526 36 1972
37 Tarjan, James E g USA 2525 0 1952
38 Serper, Grigory g USA 2522 0 1969
39 Fishbein, Alexander g USA 2520 0 1968
40 Dlugy, Maxim g USA 2518 0 1966
41 Finegold, Benjamin m USA 2515 8 1969
42 Sevillano, Enrico m USA 2512 18 1968
43 Sokolin, Leonid M m USA 2508 0 1966
44 Gurevich, Dmitry g USA 2506 22 1956
45 Rogoff, Kenneth S g USA 2505 0 1953
46 Sherzer, Alex g USA 2504 0 1971
47 Guerrero, Gilbert
USA 2500 0
48 Dozorets, Anatoly f USA 2495 0 1957
49 Addison, Wiliam G m USA 2490 0 1933
50 Gonzalez, Renier g USA 2485 0 1972

United States of America (All players) Only Women

# Name Title Fed Rating G B-Year
1 Polgar, Zsuzsa (Susan)
g USA 2577 0 1969
2 Zatonskih, Anna m USA 2462 9 1978
3 Krush, Irina m USA 2458 16 1983
4 Levitina, Irina S wg USA 2405 0 1954
5 Goletiani, Rusudan m USA 2391 0 1980
6 Donaldson-A., Elena wg USA 2375 0 1957
7 Rohonyan, Katerina wg USA 2329 0 1984
8 Shahade, Jennifer wg USA 2322 0 1980
9 Foisor, Sabina-Francesca wg USA 2320 27 1989
10 Baginskaite, Camilla wg USA 2317 0 1967
11 Akhsharumova, Anna M wg USA 2310 0 1957
12 Belakovskaia, Anjelina wg USA 2288 0 1969
13 Zenyuk, Iryna c USA 2285 7 1986
14-15 Abrahamyan, Tatev wf USA 2275 6 1988
14-15 Gershnik, Anna wg USA 2275 0 1975
16 Grinfeld, Alla B wg USA 2259 0 1953
17 Battsetseg, Tsagaan wm USA 2258 0 1972
18 Savereide, Diane wm USA 2250 0 1954
19 Hahn, Anna wm USA 2235 0 1976
20-21 Melekhina, Alisa wm USA 2220 39 1991
20-21 Levitan, Yuliya wm USA 2220 0 1973
22 Eynullaeva, Roza wf USA 2198 0 1987
23 Tverskaya, Julia wm USA 2195 0 1959
24 Epstein, Esther wm USA 2194 0 1954
25 Tsodikova, Natalia
USA 2190 0
26 Shiber, Julia wf USA 2182 0 1974
27 Koren, Inna wm USA 2180 0 1964
28-29 Marshall, Abby wf USA 2179 6 1991
28-29 Marinello, Beatriz M. wm USA 2179 0 1964
30 Herstein, Ruth
USA 2170 0

Source: FIDE - September 2009

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August 2009 USCF rating lists


Top 50 Overall
August 2009 USCF Rating List:

1Kamsky, Gata (12528459)NYUSA2799
2Onischuk, Alexander (12625186)VAUSA2764
3Nakamura, Hikaru (12641216)NYUSA2759
4Shulman, Yury (12741541)ILUSA2712
5Ehlvest, Jaan (12514557)NYUSA2697
6Akobian, Varuzhan (12740522)CAUSA2695
7Seirawan, Yasser (10509459)WAUSA2693
8Hess, Robert L (12749774)NYUSA2677
9Christiansen, Larry M (10460921)MAUSA2662
10Kaidanov, Gregory (12543746)KYUSA2643
11Benjamin, Joel (10102511)NJUSA2641
12Lenderman, Alex (12787646)NYUSA2638
13Stripunsky, Alexander (12715435)NJUSA2628
14Ibragimov, Ildar (12576446)CTUSA2626
15Shabalov, Alexander (12544264)PAUSA2624
16Becerra, Julio J (12778049)FLUSA2616
17Friedel, Joshua Edward (12593986)NHUSA2612
18Gulko, Boris (12473035)NJUSA2609
19Finegold, Benjamin P (11264417)MIUSA2603
20Kudrin, Sergey, (11257585)CTUSA2602
21Polgar, Susan Zsuzsa (12452240)TXUSA2598
22Fishbein, Alexander (12077910)NJUSA2597
23Khachiyan, Melikset (12827326)CAUSA2596
24De Firmian, Nick E (10469007)*FOR*USA2595
25Moran, Augusto (12563207)NYUSA2591
26Perelshteyn, Eugene (12627196)MAUSA2588
27Yermolinsky, Alex (12534917)SDUSA2584
28Goldin, Alexander (12556822)KYUSA2574
29Sevillano, Enrico Manalili (12650696)CAUSA2569
30Ivanov, Alexander (12513936)MAUSA2566
31Root, Douglas D (10452881)TXUSA2565
32Shankland, Samuel L (12852765)CAUSA2564
33Duque, Raymond D (12470979)TXUSA2559
34Robson, Ray (12847250)FLUSA2553
35Kraai, Jesse (12442362)CAUSA2552
36Gonzalez, Renier (12843801)FLUSA2550
37Fedorowicz, John P (10604737)NYUSA2544
38Ludwig, Daniel (12717400)FLUSA2543
39Altounian, Levon (12625289)AZUSA2538
40Ippolito, Dean J (12445752)NJUSA2535
41Rohde, Michael A (10047871)NYUSA2530
42Smith, Bryan G (12602587)PAUSA2528
43Gurevich, Dmitry (12212800)ILUSA2523
44Ashley, Maurice A (12357030)NYUSA2515
45Lakdawala, Cyrus F (11486738)CAUSA2513

Sagalchik, Gennady (12565070)NYUSA2513
47Schneider, Dmitry (12577462)NYUSA2510

Milman, Lev (21012681)NYUSA2510
49Lapshun, Yury (12548533)NYUSA2504

Bhat, Vinay S (12551720)CAUSA2504

Top 50 Women
August 2009 USCF rating list:

1Polgar, Susan Zsuzsa (12452240)TXUSA2598
2Zatonskih, Anna (12873912)NYUSA2496
3Krush, Irina (12543137)NYUSA2478
4Goletiani, Rusudan (12807449)NYUSA2437
5Foisor, Sabina-Francesca (14012260)MDUSA2390
6Baginskaite, Camilla (12716466)CAUSA2356
7Abrahamyan, Tatev (12851435)CAUSA2334
8Rohonyan, Katerine (12973020)WAUSA2331
9Melekhina, Alisa (12726115)PAUSA2301

Shahade, Jennifer (20058274)PAUSA2301
11Zenyuk, Iryna (12846035)NYUSA2281
12Battsetseg, Tsagaan (12719650)MDUSA2265
13Epstein, Esther (12515912)MAUSA2209
14Fan, Yun (14024290)INUSA2201
15Marinello, Beatriz (12537449)NYUSA2200
16Marshall, Abby (12784803)VAUSA2181
17Airapetian, Chouchanik (12629918)WAUSA2144
18Eynullayeva, Roza (12817693)MAUSA2109
19Sagalchik, Olga (12565069)NYUSA2107
20Vicary, Elizabeth (12477355)NYUSA2106
21Itkis, Hana (12667543)NJUSA2061

Dai, Yang (12897613)VAUSA2061
23West, Vanessa A (12744619)CAUSA2056
24Levina, Anna (12660143)NYUSA2052
25Kats, Alena (12980885)NYUSA2032
26Liu, Jennie S (12830124)NJUSA2029
27Chiang, Sarah (13091081)TXUSA2022
28Teasley, Dorothy (10074258)NYUSA2014

Mcvay, Karsten A (12744370)NJUSA2014
30Parrilla, Medina (12782436)NYUSA2004
31Matlin, Anna R (12876169)NJUSA2003
32Root, Alexey Wilhelmina (10374651)TXUSA2000

Jamison, Courtney (12746751)TXUSA2000
34Mateer, Amanda Rae (12752032)AZUSA1986
35Livschitz, Louiza (12680221)CAUSA1981
36Robinson, Darrian (12925651)NYUSA1980
37Datta, Anjali (12783131)TXUSA1966
38Kerr, Julia K (12696374)TXUSA1965
39Litvak, Eve V (12799901)NJUSA1963
40Weiss, Annie (12590952)NYUSA1962
41Lee, Megan (12902833)WAUSA1961
42Skidmore, Jennifer M (12457851)MIUSA1958
43Sobel, Simone (12607573)CAUSA1957
44Yang, Sylvia Siyuan (12909161)TXUSA1951
45Acon, Jennifer C (13313093)CAUSA1935
46Ginzburg, Anna (12758604)NYUSA1909
47Rodriguez, Eunice (12691412)FLUSA1908
48Dimitrijevic, Vesna (12436451)MAUSA1907
49Maffeo, Nicole (12808137)NYUSA1903
50Zhu, Caroline (12888833)TXUSA1901

Source: USCF
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Thursday, August 27, 2009

Texas Tech Commencement


Here is the link to the transcript of my Texas Tech commencement speech on 5-12-07.

Here is the link to my Texas Tech commencement video which was aired on CSPAN together with former President Bill Clinton and Oprah.
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New semester starts at Texas Tech



Today is the first day of the new semester at Texas Tech University. TTU President Guy Bailey greeted the National Collegiate Champion IM Gergely Antal and some members of the SPICE group.
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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Who says that women can’t play chess well?


Chess Notes
By Harold Dondis and GM Patrick Wolff
August 24, 2009

Turning to national news, who says that women can’t play chess well?

One has difficulty defending that position if the Denker Tournament of High School Champions is any criterion. Abby Marshall of Virginia, who registered 5 consecutive wins against her male opponents and drew her last game with Michael Yang of Minnesota, took 1st place. She is the first female to win this tournament.

In an interview on the USCF’s website, http://www.uschess.org/, she attributed her success to good tactical positions in which she was able to sacrifice pieces against her opponents’ kingside. The Denker Tournament consists of high school champions from each state. This year two females represented their states - Abby from Virginia and Erica Barkell from Idaho. The tournament was founded by the late GM Arnold Denker and is currently strongly supported by his son, Mitchell Denker, a trustee of the US Chess Trust. Abby is a product of Susan Polgar’s All Girls’ Tournaments. These are events for girls 18 and under. She won the All Girls in 2005 and 2006.

Source: Boston Globe
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Best selling book "The Fire" now in paperback


Trivia question: Which of my memorable game was used in the best selling book "The Fire" by my friend Katherine Neville?

KATHERINE NEVILLE’S BOOK LAUNCH
THE FIRE: NOW IN TRADE PAPERBACK!
Aug 25, 2009

Welcome everyone! This note is to let you all know that THE FIRE --the sequel to The Eight--is on sale in trade paperback (large format), beginning on August 25, 2009!

THE FIRE: The Bestseller

THE FIRE--my long-awaited sequel to The Eight--has spent more than SIX MONTHS ON BESTSELLER LISTS around the world, including The New York Times (shown below on book jacket), The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Rocky Mountain News, and The Indie List. It also spent many months on bestseller lists around Europe, with many weeks as Numero Uno in Spain! see film of Spanish Tour

THE FIRE: The Rave Reviews

THE FIRE has been honored by fantastic reviews from prestigious publications all over the world. Here is a smattering of scintillating snatches, just from the USA: Publishers Weekly ("Stellar..."); Booklist ("Entrancing..."); The Washington Post ("The perfect escapist adventure"); The Chicago Sun-Times ("Impresses as much for its literary aspects as for its action, puzzles and suspense"); The Rocky Mountain News ("It was worth the wait"); and Library Journal ("Dan Brown stands on the shoulders of a giant... Ingenious puzzles, enthralling historical ambience, and masterful plot twists abound. More please!")

To read more reviews in more detail on my website please visit the Reviews and Quotes section.

THE FIRE: Ignites at THE NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL: National Mall, Washington DC
Saturday, September 26, 2009

I am one of a select group of authors who are honored by being chosen to appear at this year's National Book Festival, on the National Mall in the heart of Washington DC. Our Honorary Co-Chairs are Michelle and Barack Obama! I will be presenting at the Fiction and Fantasy Pavilion from 11:35 a.m. to 12:05 noon (along with John Grisham, Jodi Picoult, John Irving and other luminaries!)--and then I will be signing my books at the Borders Book Pavilion from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. For upcoming details of this and future events, please visit my website.

THE FIRE
AUGUST 25, 2009
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