[imagefield_assist|fid=8566|preset=fullsize|lightbox=true|title=Saint Louis Mayor Francis Slay (left) and CCSCSL founder Rex Sinquefield (right) present IM Irina Krush with her winnings from the 2010 U.S. Women's Championship.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=375|height=271]SAINT LOUIS, November 30, 2010 – The 2011 U.S. Championship and 2011 U.S. Women’s Championship have been set to take place April 13-28 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL).

These two prestigious events will be held concurrently, and each will feature the largest per capita prize fund in history. More than $230,000 will be at stake in both events.

Two of the four wildcard invitations to the U.S. Championship will be up for grabs at an invitational qualifying tournament, which will be held either concurrently or preceding the Saint Louis Open, scheduled March 5-6, 2011.

Organizers will once again host a $10,000 Blitz Tournament to be held in conjunction with the U.S. Championships, scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 25. The $10k Blitz that was held during the 2010 U.S. Championship featured 84 players, including 20 grandmasters, and the CCSCSL is hoping to build on that with an even better showing next year.

The 2011 U.S. Championship will feature 16 competitors, which will be split into two round-robin fields of eight, with the top two players from each round robin advancing to a four-player knockout finale.

The 2011 U.S. Women’s Championship will see eight players facing off in a preliminary round robin, with the top four players also advancing to a four-player knockout finale. All players will be hosted at the historic and luxurious Chase Hotel, a short walk from the Chess Club.

The breakdown of the 16 invitations for the 2011 U.S. Championship is as follows:

(1) The 2010 U.S. Champion

(1) The 2010 U.S. Women’s Champion

(1) The 2010 U.S. Junior Closed Champion

(1) The 2010 U.S. Senior Open Champion

(1) The 2010 U.S. Open Champion

(7) The top seven U.S. players by rating (by the January rating supplement)

(2) Two wildcard invitations

(2) The two winners of the invitational qualifying wildcard tournament

The breakdown of the eight invitations for the 2011 U.S. Women’s Championship is as follows:

(1) The 2010 U.S. Women’s Champion

(6) The top six female U.S. players by rating (by the January rating supplement)

(1) One wildcard spot

Both of these tournaments will feature live grandmaster commentary and analysis, and the streaming video of the commentary will be broadcast at www.uschesschamps.com, the official website of the U.S. Championships.

Stay tuned for more exciting developments!