With the US Juniors starting up, I had the opportunity to chat briefly with the wild card entry, 16-year-old Californian Annie Wang; to our knowledge, she is the first girl to play in the US Junior Championship. I found out that her favorite chess book is Boris Gelfand’s “Dynamic Decision Making in Chess” (2018, Quality Chess) and that her $18,000 second-place prize for her amazing 2018 US Women’s Championship is safely in the bank waiting for college tuition bills.

In describing her place in the Juniors tournament, she said she had gotten a call from Tony Rich, the St. Louis CC’s executive director (www.SaintLouisChessClub.org), and she immediately accepted his offer to play. She said she just wanted to play in a strong event with a chance of getting her second IM norm. By skipping the Girls Championship (in which she was a big favorite), she gave up a shot at a national title and the $3,000 first-place prize. She will have to play very well to avoid the bottom of the crosstable. In any case, we wish her the very best. You can watch all the games at wwww.USChessChamps.com.