Photos, standings, results of 2009 SPNI

Here is the link to 135 pictures of the Opening Ceremony and Round 1 of the 6th Annual Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.

There will be daily updates of results, pairings, and photos right here on this blog as well as http://polgargirls.blogspot.com/.

Texas Tech University agrees to award a four-year academic scholarship (to attend TTU) to the highest finishing player who has not graduated from high school by August. Partial scholarships are also awarded to the 2nd and 3rd place finishers. The combine value of the sponsorship and scholarships for this prestigious USCF national championship is nearly $2 million over 10 years which is until 2017.

The prize fund, sponsored by the Susan Polgar Foundation and the U.S. Chess Trust, are $1,250 divided into four scholarship prizes: 1st ($500), 2nd ($300), 3rd ($250), and 4th ($200). All the rules and conditions of this event are available here.

Special thanks to Texas Tech and SPICE, the Susan Polgar Foundation, the US Chess Trust, DGT North America, ChessCafe, Visit Lubbock, USCF, and all our other sponsors for supporting this very special tournament. Also special thanks to Lubbock Mayor Tom Martin, Ambassador Tibor Nagy, Dr. Jim Brink, and all our volunteers.