Donation Brings National Chess Tournament To Stillwater
AP – 3/22/2007 8:47 AM – Updated 3/22/2007 9:59 AM
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) A retired businessman donated $50,000 to bring a national chess championship to Oklahoma for the first time in at least 50 years.
Frank Berry, an avid chess fan and player, provided the donation to host the tournament in Stillwater after its original sponsor in Seattle backed out in January.
“We host a lot of chess championships here, and I thought it would be a good idea to bring the national championship here if I could,” Berry said.
The U.S. Chess Federation’s crowning event will feature 34 competitors — including a few wildcard entrants from Oklahoma — playing May 15-23 in Stillwater. Uninvited players will be allowed to enter the tournament at a fee of between $5,000 and $50,000, based on their chess ranking.
Here is the full article.
Does the Associated Press know more about the US Championship than the players who qualified? Or perhaps they rescinded my qualification?
22 days since the first announcement and 54 days until the first round, I am still waiting to receive a formal invitation…
Michael Aigner
You should post this on the USCF forum. I am curious to hear their answer.
USCF Executive Director Bill Hall says that the invitations were mailed on Tuesday.