Members of the 2004 US Women’s Olympiad Training Program in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 2004
Have you ever heard of Stillwater, Oklahoma? I didn’t until I was invited to come there with my US Women’s Olympiad teammates in 2004. Before that, the most well known thing about Stillwater, Oklahoma to me is Oklahoma State University, a power house in college football. Now chess is making a name in Stillwater as well, thanks to twin brothers Jim and Frank Berry.
Elizabeth Vicary wrote:
Despite my suspicions, the publication of this finding seemed an auspicious omen when I heard about the unusual conditions promised at the OCF North American FIDE Open, held February 17-19 in Stillwater, OK. The tournament organizer, Frank Berry, offered any FIDE rated woman free entry, hotel, transportation from the airport in Tulsa (70 miles!), and a $500 appearance fee. There was even a separate $4,500 prize fund for women that exceeded the overall prize fund. This seemed absolutely incredible to me, and something I would be crazy to turn down. Apparently, IM Irina Krush, WGM Camilla Baginskaite, WIM Nadia Ortiz, WIM Batchimeg Tuvshintugs, WIM Alexey Root, WFM Bayaraa Zorigt, WFM Tatev Abrahamyan, WFM Iryna Zenyuk, WFM Lilia Doibani, WCM Judit Simo, Tatiana Vayserberg, Vanessa West, Simone Sobel, Becky Huang, Stephanie Ballom, Sarah Chiang, Courtney Jamison, Stephanie Pitcher, Helen Jamison, Sylvia Yang, and Alexa Zolman all felt the same way!
Why such generosity? Frank Berry, who both organized and sponsored the tournament explained: “I wanted to make the tournament special, unique. There are very few women players in Oklahoma, and I thought this would be a great thing for Oklahoma chess. It creates opportunities not just for the women, but also for local players. Of course, I wanted to attract stars like IM Irina Krush, WGM Camila Baginskaite and WFM Tatev Abrahamyan, but I wanted the players with lower FIDE ratings just as much, because they offer regular Oklahoma players a great chance to get FIDE ratings themselves.”
You can read the full article by Elizabeth on uschess.org by clicking here.
I hope Berry will kick Sloan’s butt in the election.
They’re having an election to see what the women’s chess capital is???
One of the Berry brothers and Susan are running for election to the USCF Executive Board.
It is really nice to see Susan is so honest and open as to give good press to her opponent.
I will be voting for Susan and her complete slate. Mr Berry is a nice person but we need some big time changes to get chess into the big time money with corporate sponsorship. Susan is our best chance for that. Mr Berry is ok for Oklahoma tournaments where he himself puts up the money. But we need to find big money corporations to sponsor chess on a regular basis.
You can read more about it on Susan’s Blog dedicated to the election.
I am going to revert to Neahderthal mode for a moment to say that is a really awesome picture.
To me, Shahade looks pregnant in that picture.
This pic was well-received by the critique panel for its smooth technique that results in flawless animation of chess pieces cavorting about a chess board in a battle that, according to Jonathan’s notes, represents a combat between classic and nouveau game theory. Featuring great close-ups and a rousing Russian musical track, the project nonetheless ends quite abruptly but is otherwise well-executed. Features cameo by Jonathan’s dad as the chessmaster! Chess Theory now qualifies Jonathan to advance to OKIndieFest in July 2002.
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Stellathomas
Oklahoma Drug Addiction