U.S. Women's Open Chess Championship

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The U.S. Women's Open Championship is an open chess tournament that has been held irregularly in conjunction with the annual U.S. Open Chess Championship.

[edit] History

Through 1950, the women's tournaments were held as separate round robin events. From 1951 on, with the exception of 1954, the women played in the same tournament as the men with the title U.S. Women's Open Champion being awarded to the woman with the highest score.

[edit] Winners

Complete records of the Women's Open Championship are not available.

No. Year Location Champions
1 1934 Chicago, Illinois Virginia Sheffield
2 1937 Chicago, Illinois Jean M. Grau
3 1938 Boston, Massachusetts Mona May Karff
4 1939 New York, New York Mona May Karff 1
5 1948 Baltimore, Maryland Mona May Karff
6 1950 Detroit, Michigan Mona May Karff and Lucille Kellner
7 1951 Fort Worth, Texas Maxine Cutlip
8 1953 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Eva Aronson
9 1954 New Orleans, Louisiana Gisela Kahn Gresser 2
10 1955 Long Beach, California Sonja Graf
11 1956 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Sonja Graf
12 1957 Cleveland, Ohio Sonja Graf
13 1958 Rochester, Minnesota Kathryn Slater
14 1959 Omaha, Nebraska Sonja Graf
15 1960 St. Louis, Missouri Lisa Lane
16 1961 San Francisco, California Eva Aronson
17 1962 San Antonio, Texas Kathryn Slater
18 1963 Chicago, Illinois Kate Sillars
19 1964 Boston, Massachusetts Kathryn Slater and Cecilia Rock
20 1965 Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico Mary Bain and Kathryn Slater
21 1966 Seattle, Washington Mary Bain
 ?  ?  ?  ?
41 2007 Stillwater, Oklahoma Irina Krush
1 1939 was a three way tie, Karff won playoff over Mary Bain and Dr. Helen Weissenstein.
2 1954 was a separate round robin of 11 players, and the women's zonal tournament for that year. Gresser won 8-2. Mona Karf and Sonja Graf tied at 7-3, but Karff had more Sonnenborn-Berger points and qualified with Gresser to play in the Women's World Chess Championship Candidates Tournament.

[edit] References

  • Harkness, Kenneth (1967). Official Chess Handbook. David McKay, pp. 276–278. LCCN 66-13085.  (History and winners list of the tournament through 1966.)