International master wins US Championship in Mo.
2:15 p.m. CDT, April 28, 2011
ST. LOUIS — An international chess master has won the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship in St. Louis for the fourth time.
Anna Zatonskih (ZAH’-tahn-skee) didn’t win last year. She recaptured the title Thursday after winning a triple-overtime-style match against Tatev Abrahamyan (TAH’-tuhv Ah-bruh-huhm-YAHN).
Zatonskih will get $18,000 and Abrahamyan will get $12,000 of the $60,000 women’s prize fund.
In Wednesday’s all-male U.S. Championship final, 36-year-old Gata Kamsky (GAH’-tuh KAHM’-skee) of New York defeated Grandmaster Yury Shulman of Chicago. Kamsky will receive $42,000 and Shulman $30,000. An additional $98,000 will be split among other men who fared well in that competition.
Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Nice payday.
Ok! I like where chess is going in this country. Exciting to give these women an opportunity to showcase their talents. But, the prize money for first is more than half less that of the men’s.
Anyone who saw the thrilling finale between Zatonskih and Tatev will agree that it could/should have been a much bigger payday. These players really wowed us kibitzers with great fighting spirit. Where, to put it bluntly, the men’s final was really boring. Perhaps, because it lacked Nakamura. But kudos to Kamsky and Shulman. And especially of GMs Hess and Shankland.
Here’s to women chess!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN5Hf1U9AAQ
Why are the women getting less money than the men? There should be equal pay.
Kamalakanta
Should class-C players be getting $40,000 paycheck? Okay, then, point made.
Point not made. The correct point would be that it’s not men’s and women’s, but an overall US champion open to anyone and a Women’s only event. The overall champion should probably receive more money.
That said, I think that the market should decide paydays to an extent. There is no market for C-class games to make money, but that doesn’t mean it is just about playing strength.
Women’s tennis gets similar ratings to Mens and they are receiving similar paychecks, even though the Men would beat the Women head to head on the court. If there are viewers and paying sponsors and fans then women should get payed equally.
Personally, much like tennis, I prefer to watch the women’s games in chess. Far fewer draws, some mistakes that can be used to instruct the viewers, and still much better quality chess than I’ll ever play.
I watched the US and Women’s championships almost every day and nothing was as exciting to watch as some of the Zatonskih-Krush games and Tatev and Anna Finals.
Men’s chess at the top is just as boring as Men’s tennis. In chess it’s nothing but boring draws and in tennis it’s mainly about power serving.
Anonymous,
Zatonskih is a very good player. Krush is a very good player. Have you seen their games? You call them Class-C because you don’t understand a thing about their games. They should get equal pay.
Kamalakanta
Well said Kamalakanta!