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FISCHER MEMORIAL PRIZE, JACKPOT BONUS ADDED TO PRIZES

FOR 2009 U.S. CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP BEING HELD IN ST. LOUIS

ST. LOUIS, February 19, 2009 — A $64,000 bonus in memory of late chess champion Bobby Fischer and a jackpot bonus for a “clear” first-place winner have been added to the prizes being awarded at the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship. The tournament, which will be held May 7-17, 2009 at the new Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, will offer a purse of more than $130,000 in prize money.

Any player who scores a 9-0 sweep will be awarded the Fischer Memorial Prize, a $64,000 bonus in addition to the first-place award. The prize is in remembrance of the late American world champion Bobby Fischer, who died in 2008 at age 64. Fischer scored an 11-0 victory in the 1963-64 U.S. championship, the only perfect score in the event’s history.

Additionally, a jackpot bonus of $5,000 will be awarded to the first-place winner. If there is a tie for first, the jackpot will be awarded in a playoff for the title of U.S. champion, to be contested on May 17, after the final round and before the closing ceremony. Up to four players will contest a series of one-game rapid matches designed to guarantee a decisive result (“draw odds games”).
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From Chessbase:

Two and a half months after the death of the great chess legend Bobby Fischer, the examination of his legal estate has yielded some intriguing information, gleaned from the hard disk of his notebook computer. Apparently the reclusive former World Champion followed the chess activities of his colleagues quite closely, and in fact corresponded with a few of them. Today we received copies of his letters.

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I have been waiting to find some really good content before talking about Bobby Fischer on this blog. Tonight I believe I have found just the type of chess nugget I was looking for.

Bobby Fischer Videos

The guys over at the Internet Chess Club (see sidebar) and Chess.FM have been doing a tremendous job with their multimedia content over the last year or so. In this post we bring an exclusive interview with GM Vassily Ivanchuk after his latest tournament. Also, click more when the video is over to hear from GM Spassky (the late GM Bobby Fischer’s World Championship Opponent).