By Webmaster
Salt Lake City

May 25, 2010

Congratulations to Minna Wang, who placed in the top three at the Utah Girls' Chess Championship in February. Because of her exceptional accomplishment at the state tournament, as well as her consistent outstanding performance at other state scholastic events, she has qualififed to represent the state of Utah at the Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls.

This annual tournament, the most prestigious all-girls event in the country, was created to provide more opportunities to top young female chess players in the United States. The event is a culmination of a series of regional, state, and nationwide qualifying tournaments over a twelve-month period that involves more than 3,000 young girls fighting ot represent their respective states.

This year, the tournament will be held at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. The prize fund, sponsored by the U.S. Chess Trust and the Susan Polgar Foundation, are allocated mainly in the form of scholarships, with the highest finishing player receiving a four-year academic scholarship to Texas Tech University. The tournament provides a wonderful opportunity for Minna to compete against some of the best young female chess players in the nation.

We are proud of Minna's accomplishments and excited as she prepares to represent Utah at the national event. Check back near the end of July as we will follow her games and track her progress.

Utah female players who have represented Utah in the SPNI since its induction:

2004: Stephanie Pitcher in Fort Lauderdale, FL
2005: Janice Chen in Phoenix, AZ
2006: Janice Chen in Oakbrook, IL
2007: Eliza McIntosh, Janice Chen in Cherry Hill, NJ
2008: Jamie Olsen-Mills, Janice Chen in Lubbock, TX
2009: No representative
2010: Minna Wang in Lubbock, TX