Bill Cornwall’s Chess: A Knight’s Tour: Floridians vie for crown
May 10, 2009
The U.S. Championship trophy is up for grabs, and two Floridians have been invited to compete. Grandmaster (GM) Julio Becerra, of Miami, and International Master (IM) Ray Robson, of Key Largo, along with 22 other top U.S. masters will be battling for nine rounds in St. Louis through this week.
Former Florida champion Becerra moved to the United States 10 years ago from Cuba, where he twice won the national title. Honored twice as the National Chess League’s Most Valuable Player, he has previously played in the U.S. Championship. He is rated seventh in the nation.
Fourteen-year-old Robson, born in Guam, is our country’s youngest IM. He has already won seven national scholastic titles as well as having previously competed in the U.S. Championship when he was 12. He is rated 40th in the United States.
To win the title, our players will have to outpace some formidable foes. Eight have already been U.S. champion at least once. Top-ranked Gata Kamsky has even been the official challenger to former world champion Anatoly Karpov and played a final qualifying match with ex-world champion Veselin Topalov.
Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go Ray!