The 2009 U.S. Championship is fastly approaching! There are 24 players who will be participating in this year's tournament of all ages, including one player who is just 14! We are pleased to announce the following chess luminaries have accepted their invitation to compete in the 2009 U.S. Championship and will be in Saint Louis this May. Check back often for updates!

Confirmed Players

First Name	Last Name	Reason for Invitation
Tatev	Abrahamyan
Varuzhan	Akobian	Rating
Varuzhan	Akobian	Rating
Varuzhan	Akobiana	Rating
Camilla	Baginskaite
Julio	Becerra	Rating
Joel	Benjamin	Rating
Joel	Benjamin	Rating
Chris	Bird
Michael	Brooks	Wildcard
Larry	Christiansen	Rating
Larry	Christiansen	2009 U.S. Senior Open Champion
Doug	Eckert	Replaced Anna Zatonskih after she withdrew for medical reasons.
Jaan	Ehlvest	Rating
Jaan	Ehlvest	Rating
Yun	Fan
Sabina-Francesca	Foisor
Josh	Friedel	Wildcard
Rusudan	Goletiani
Boris	Gulko	Rating
Dmitry	Gurevich	U.S. Open: Top-Five Finisher
Robert	Hess	Wildcard
Robert	Hess	Rating
Tyler	Hughes	Qualified - 2008 U.S. Junior Closed Champion
Ildar	Ibragimov	Rating
Carol	Jarecki
Gregory	Kaidanov	Rating
Gregory	Kaidanov	Rating
Gata	Kamsky	Rating
Gata	Kamsky	Rating
Gata	Kamsky	Rating
Melik	Khachiyan	Rating
Melikset	Khachiyan	Rating
Jesse	Kraai	U.S. Open: Top-Five Finisher
Irina	Krush	Female, Rating
Irina	Krush
Sergey	Kudrin	U.S. Open: Top-Five Finisher
Charles	Lawton	Wildcard
Alex	Lenderman	U.S. Open: Top-Five Finisher
Alisa	Melekhina
Hikaru	Nakamura	Rating
Hikaru	Nakamura	2009 U.S. Champion
Alexander	Onischuk	Rating
Alexander	Onischuk	Rating
Alexander	Onischuk	Rating
Ray	Robson	Wildcard
Ray	Robson	2009 U.S. Junior Closed Champion
Enrico	Sevillano	qualified - 2008 U.S. Open Champion
Alexander	Shabalov	Wildcard
Alexander	Shabalov	Rating
Sam	Shankland	State Champion of Champions
Yury	Shulman	Qualified - defending U.S. Champion
Yury	Shulman	Rating
Battsetseg	Tsagaan
Alex	Yermolinsky	U.S. Open: Top-Five Finisher
Anna	Zatonskih	Female, rating
Anna	Zatonskih
Iryna	Zenyuk