Flying Solo
The 15th Annual Susan Polgar Foundation Girls’ Invitational (SPFGI) took place on July 21-26, 2018 at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Naomi was traveling to this chess tournament alone, for the first time ever!
Here are the photos of Naomi from SPFGI, in the date/time order: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y1aQ2Fg6EHJzcEmPA
Here are all the photos from SPFGI, in reverse date/time order: https://photos.app.goo.gl/hBnFwn29dppULCQK6
Saturday, July 21
Arrival Day. After sending off Naomi on a flight to St Louis, we went to play disc golf and see a botanical garden nearby: https://photos.app.goo.gl/mquXWay7gZ9qcQuEA
Meanwhile Naomi flew to St Louis, where the organizers met her and other girls at the airport, and drove them to a Webster University dorm.
Sunday, July 22
9:00 am – 12:00 pm: Seminar & Training
2:00 pm – 2:30 pm: Puzzle Solving Championship
3:00 pm: Blitz Championship
Monday, July 23
1:00 pm Opening Ceremony
2:00 pm Round 1
Tuesday, July 24
9:30 am Round 2
3:00 pm Round 3
Wednesday, July 25
9:30 am Round 4
3:00 pm Round 5
Thursday, July 26
9:00 am Round 6
There was a 5-way tie for first place, and Sasha Konovalenko won the playoff:
2:00 pm Closing Ceremony
After the closing ceremony, the organizers drove Naomi to the airport and she flew to Atlanta to catch a connecting flight to Madison, WI.
Serendipitously, Dylan Porth from Idaho flew the same route. They had a good time:
In Madison's suburb Middleton, the National Girls Tournament of Champions is about to start: http://www.nationalgirlschess.com/selection-procedures-for-invitees/
And here, Susan Polgar shares her thoughts on all-girls chess tournaments:
