Spectacular Chess Improvement

Since the SPICE program started a few years ago, it has been growing and expanding at warp speed.

Through the special training program for the Texas Tech Knight Raiders chess teams, the 13 active members of the A team, B team, and women's team gained nearly 1,100 rating points in just this short time! That is an average improvement of nearly 90 rating points per player!

This is the reason why I keep on pushing the idea of proper training for young people! If they are taught the right way, they will improve in chess.

Proclamation, El Paso, Texas

World Champion Anand: I decided to go to college

In a recent interview, Vishy Anand said:

After winning the world junior, I decided to go to college anyway (studying commerce). It's like an insurance policy. In fact, some of the best results were when I was in college.

I agree with Anand. I believe that it is very important to go to college, even if one believes that he / she will be a chess professional. Many top chess professionals do it. I also went to college (in Minsk) even though I later became a chess professional. I am glad I did and I am a strong advocate for college chess.

Rules and Conditions for the 2010 SPGI

Rules and Conditions for the 2010 Susan Polgar Girl's Invitational (SPGI)

Mikhail Botvinnik, one of the great world champions, said the following: "Chess is the art of analysis.” He also added: "Chess mastery essentially consists of analyzing chess positions accurately."

He is correct. It is very hard to improve properly if one does not know what or how to study / self evaluate. I was fortunate enough to learn chess the right way early on. With hard work over the years, I was able to win 4 separate World Championships, 10 Olympiad medals including 5 Gold, and stay in the top 3 in the world for around 25 years.

Over the past decade, I have closely followed the transition and progress of chess among female. Chess is getting as popular as ever among girls. Women in chess have made big progress since I became the first woman to earn the Grandmaster title through traditional FIDE requirement. But there is still a long way to go.

Can girls play chess as well as boys? Can women play chess as well as men? The answer is yes. So how come there are not more female at the top of the overall rating chart? I strongly believe that it is possible but they need proper training. Male and female approach chess differently. We evaluate things differently. We have very different perspective about chess. Unfortunately, many young female chess players were not taught properly. There is no one size fits all in chess teaching method for boys and girls.

That is why I developed an exclusive system to teach girls based on my own experience and knowledge in chess. This is also why I believe that it is crucial for me to change the format of this event. After 5 days of intense training, a whole new chess perspective on the board will open up for you and it will help raise your understanding of chess by many folds, no matter if you are 1200 or 2200.

There are many chess tournaments year round but this will be the only opportunity for the qualifiers this year. This event will revolutionize women's chess in this country for years to come and I hope you will be a part of this chess revolution.

Below are the updated rules and regulations for the 2010 SPGI:

Rules and Conditions for the Susan Polgar Girl’s Invitational (SPGI)
July 25 – 30, 2010 at Texas Tech University (TTU) in Lubbock, Texas

The annual Susan Polgar Girl’s Invitational, the most prestigious all-girls event in the United States, will be held at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.

The opening ceremony will be at 1:00 PM on July 25. There will be a brand new format this year.

• Instead of a six day tournament, there will be a five day intense world class training program with Susan Polgar, followed by a 6 round G/30 championship tournament.
• The traditional Blitz, Puzzle Solving, Bughouse events will stay the same as previous years.
• There will be many prizes awarded, including scholarship(s) to Texas Tech University.

Each state is allowed one representative. Official representative alternates may be substituted no later than June 15. (Susan Polgar and/or the new Polgar Committee may allow the host state to enter an additional qualified player.) Susan Polgar and/or the new Polgar Committee (PolgarCommittee@gmail.com) may allow exceptions to the June 1 entry/alternate deadline. Should the state affiliate fail to respond to the notice for this tournament, Susan Polgar and/or the Polgar Committee may determine the candidate from that state.

Players must be under the age of 19 as of August 15th of the year in which the tournament is held. Players must have been enrolled in a school (up to 12th grade) located in the state they represent, also of the year in which the tournament is held. Home-schooled students who are under the age of 19 on August 15th of the year in which the event is held or students who have never attended college on a full time basis prior to June 1 of the year in which the tournament is held, are eligible to represent the state in which they reside. Proof of eligibility will be the responsibility of the players and of the state official certifying the representative and alternate.

Exception: If a player graduates from high school early and is already attending college, she may still represent her state if nominated. This is the decision of each state affiliate. Players already enrolled in college are not eligible to receive the scholarship. In such cases scholarship(s) go to the next tournament winner.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: The participants of the Susan Polgar Girl’s Invitational DO NOT have to be high school students. Any qualifier under the age of 19 (by August 15th of the year in which the tournament is held) is eligible!

Players are required to furnish the organizer an emergency phone number and the e-mail address of a parent/guardian.

There is no fee to participate in the 2010 SPGI; however, players are responsible for their own travel, room and meal expenses. If players choose to stay and/or dine on TTU’s campus, inexpensive accommodations are available. Please note that all reservations and registrations MUST be made (and accommodation expenses prepaid) no later than June 15, 2010.

Trophies / plaques will be awarded to the winners of the Susan Polgar Girl’s Invitational Puzzle Solving Championship, Blitz Championship, and the Rapid Championship. The player with the highest combined score in the Puzzle Solving, Blitz and Rapid will be crowned the Susan Polgar Girl’s Invitational Grand Champion. Co-champions are recognized in the case of a tie, with each champion receiving a Grand Champion’s Plaque or Trophy. The Grand Champion (or Co-Champions) will automatically be invited to defend her/their title (must meet age requirement).

The player with the highest combined score in the Puzzle Solving, Blitz and Rapid will also receive a $1,000 scholarship to attend TTU (equivalent to $36,000 for an out of state student). The scholarship must begin the following year. A one game playoff (G/5) will be held in the case of a tie for the TTU scholarship.

The New Polgar Committee’s goal is to have all 50 states (including two representatives for California and two for Texas) and the District of Columbia represented. We strongly encourage each state and the District of Columbia affiliate to hold a scholastic championship tournament to determine each state’s champion and representative. Failing this, rating criteria may be acceptable.

A scholastic girls’ champion or the highest rated girls’ scholastic player in a state who has no state affiliate of the USCF should contact the Polgar Committee as soon as possible (PolgarCommittee@gmail.com).

Special Invitation: All past participants of the SPNI (Susan Polgar National Invitational 2004-2009) are invited to participate in the 2010 SPGI. The idea is to have the past participants learn my method of training so they can go back home and share their knowledge with the younger players. However, registration MUST be made no later than June 15, 2010 since space is limited.

Susan Polgar and/or the Polgar Committee (PolgarCommittee@gmail.com) and its members may elect to award wild cards each year for the Susan Polgar Girl’s Invitational.

Special qualifying events: The Polgar Committee will award automatic qualifying spots to the reigning winners in each section of the annual Susan Polgar National Open for Girls (Arizona) and the annual Susan Polgar World Open for Girls (Las Vegas).

Contact info: The Susan Polgar Foundation can be contacted at 806-742-7742 (phone) or through SusanPolgar@aol.com (email).

NOTICE TO ALL STATE OFFICIALS: Please send the nomination from your state to the Polgar Committee (PolgarCommittee@gmail.com).

For information and rates to stay and/or dine on TTU’s campus, please send an email to SusanPolgar@aol.com.

Daily tentative schedule (All players will have a chance to work together as well as separately based on ratings):

Sunday, July 25

1:00 pm: Opening Ceremony

1:30 pm – 4:30 pm: Start of training

Monday, July 26

9 am – 12 pm: Morning Training

1:30 pm – 4:30 pm: Afternoon Training

6:00 pm – 7:30 pm: Puzzle Solving Championship and Bughouse

Tuesday, July 27

9 am – 12 pm: Morning Training

1:30 pm – 4:30 pm: Afternoon Training

6:00 pm – 7:30 pm: Blitz Championship

Wednesday, July 28

9 am – 12 pm: Morning Training

1:30 pm – 4:30 pm: Afternoon Training

6:00 pm: Special fun activities (TBA)

Thursday, July 29

9 am – 12 pm: Morning Training

1:30 pm – 2:30 pm: Tournament round 1

2:45 pm – 3:45 pm: Tournament round 2

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Tournament round 3

6:00 pm: Special fun activities (TBA)

Friday, July 30

9 am – 10 am: Tournament round 4

10:15 am – 11:15 am: Tournament round 5

11:30 am – 12:30 pm: Tournament round 6

1:30 pm: Closing ceremony

The all new Susan Polgar Girl's Invitational

New format for the Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls (SPNI)

The U.S.C.F. has decided to cancel the Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls, the most prestigious and most successful all-girls national championship in U.S. history. They also cancelled the U.S.C.F. Polgar Committee. Unfortunately, no one officially informed me of these decisions (not even as of today!) and I did not find out about their decisions until many months later through third parties.

This event has gained enormous support among the scholastic community as well as thousands of chess parents. Many young female chess players have benefited greatly from the SPNI.

When I started the U.S. Women’s Olympiad program and the Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls back in 2003, the idea was to elevate women’s chess in the United States. We have done exactly that. The U.S Women’s Olympiad Team captured the first ever Olympiad medal in the 2004 Olympiad (Silver) and again in 2008 (Bronze). In fact, members of the 2004 U.S. Women’s Olympiad Training Program have won every U.S. Women’s Championship since:

• 2004 WGM Jennifer Shahade
• 2005 IM Rusa Goletiani
• 2006 IM Anna Zatonskih
• 2007 IM Irina Krush
• 2008 IM Anna Zatonskih
• 2009 IM Anna Zatonskih



The Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls also had similar unprecedented success. In the past six years, the SPNI has transformed girl’s chess in America. Thousands of girls from across the country competed in their local, regional, state, and national events to earn a special invitation. The pinnacle was in 2009 when Abby Marshall, two-time winner of the SPNI, won the Denker Tournament of High School Champions. She was the first girl in U.S. history to dominate and win this very strong event ahead of over 45 top rated boys.

No one can control what the U.S.C.F or its lifelong chess politicians would do. The only thing I could do is to listen to the hundreds of parents and scholastic supporters around the country who either wrote or contacted me about saving this event. They clearly want this special event for girls to continue.

After consulting with board members of the Susan Polgar Foundation and members of former USCF Polgar Committee, we have reached the following:

• We will combine the SPNI and SP All-Star program into one and make it even better and much more beneficial for these talented young ladies.
• The new event will take place on July 25-30 at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas
• Instead of a six day tournament, there will be a five day intense training program with me and a G/30 Championship tournament on day six.
• The traditional blitz, puzzle solving, bughouse events will stay the same.

The reason for this change is I would like to help raise the playing level of all girls. After looking back at the detailed statistics in the past six years, we came to the conclusion that some of the top girls have elevated their playing levels at a faster pace while the rest at a much slower one.

This intense training will be personally conducted by me and some of the top chess coaches. I will share with all of them my training secrets to help them improve dramatically. I hope to open up a whole new chess perspective on the board for these young talented ladies and raise their understanding of chess by many folds.

Just as the past SPNI, the qualifying procedure will remain nearly the same. It will be posted in the next day or so.

I would like to thank everyone for being so passionate about this issue and I will do my best to help the young players in this country. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions.

Best wishes,
Susan Polgar

The decision about the SP Invitational has been reached

The decision about the Susan Polgar Invitational has been made by the members of the Susan Polgar Foundation and former USCF Polgar Committee. The annual Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls will have a new and exciting format in 2010. I hope that the new event will revolutionize girl's chess in America and bring it to a whole new level. The details will be posted shortly.

Susan Polgar