$155,000 in prizes, scholarships and stipends awarded!

Co-Champions of the 2005
Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls

L to R: Alisa Melekhina (PA), Susan Polgar,
Anya Corke (CA), Abby Marshall (OH)

The second annual Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls (under 19) was held alongside with the US Open in Phoenix, Arizona this year. Approximately 3,000 girls participated in regional and state qualifying events in the last 12 months to earn the right to represent their states. A record 48 girls (as young as 11) represented their respective states in this year’s championship.

At the conclusion of the tournament last night, three players tied for first with the score of 5-1 (4 wins and 2 draws). WFM Alisa Melekhina (PA), Abby Marshall (OH) and WGM Anya Cork (CA) were declared co-champions. They were also the top three seeds of the tournament. Each champion was awarded a full tuition and fees scholarship (value more than $40,000) to the University of Texas in Dallas, presented by Dr. Tim Redman (UTD).

Louiza Livschitz (CA), Amanda Mateer (AZ), Emily Lau (HI) and Anjali Datta (TX) were tied for 4th place with the score of 4.5 – 1.5.

A record $155,000 in prizes, scholarships and stipends were awarded to the 48 young ladies. The third annual Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls will be held in Chicago, IL next year (August 6-11 in Oakbrook, IL).

The event was sponsored by:

The Susan Polgar Foundation (http://www.susanpolgarfoundation.org/)
UTD (University of Texas in Dallas) (http://www.utd.edu/)
Susan Polgar (www.SusanPolgar.com)
US Chess Trust (www.USChess.org)
Excalibur Electronics and the World Chess Hall of Fame (http://www.ExcaliburElectronics.com)www.WorldChessHallOfFame.org)
Everyman Chess (http://www.everymanchess.com/)
Polgar Chess (www.PolgarChess.com)
American Chess Equipment (www.AmChessEq.com)
International Chess Marketing
Frank Berry (http://members.fullnet.net/smwharry/okchess/OCF.htm)
Paul Azzurro (www.chessondvd.com)
USCF (Unites States Chess Federation) (www.USChess.org)
etc.