19-28 September at the Texas Tech Student Union
DATE: July 10, 2008
2008 SPICE Cup is the Highest Rated 10-player International
Round-Robin in U.S. History
Texas Tech University’s Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence
announced Thursday it has assembled the strongest field of chess
grandmasters in U.S. round-robin history for its 2008 SPICE Cup
International Invitational Tournament.
The ten players – all grandmasters – confirmed for the event boast an
average rating of 2605 according to World Chess Federation (FIDE)
ratings.
This makes SPICE Cup a Category 15 tournament – the highest-rated
tournament of its kind held on U.S. soil. The invitational round-robin
tournament pits an international slate of 10 players against each
other through nine rounds of play over ten days.
“We have secured a very prestigious roster of players from around the
globe to compete in this tournament,” said SPICE Director Susan
Polgar.
It will take place from Sept. 19-28 at the Texas Tech Student Union
Building and is the main attraction of Texas Tech’s annual SPICE Cup
Festival. Other activities include the 2008 Texas Women’s Open
Championship, SPICE Cup Grand Prix, SPICE Cup Scholastic and SPICE Cup
Pro-Am.
Players with their U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) and World Chess
Federation (FIDE) ratings are as follows:
Alexander Onischuk, United States, 2734 USCF / 2670 FIDE
Harikrishna Pentala, India, 2724 USCF / 2668 FIDE
Leonid Kritz, Germany, 2667 USCF / 2610 FIDE
Varuzhan Akobian, United States, 2660 USCF / 2610 FIDE
Gregory Kaidanov, United States, 2664 USCF / 2605 FIDE
Julio Becerra, United States, 2640 USCF / 2598 FIDE
Victor Mikhalevski, Israel, 2679 USCF / 2592 FIDE
Kamil Miton, Poland, 2703 USCF / 2580 FIDE
Hannes Stefansson, Iceland, 2597 USCF / 2566 FIDE
Eugene Perelshteyn, United States, 2619 USCF / 2555 FIDE (Defending Champion)
USCF Average Rating: 2669
Contact: Cory Chandler, cory.chandler@ttu.edu, (806) 742-2136
