Naomi wins North American All-Girls

 Over the weekend of November 3-4, 2018 Naomi won the North American All-Girls Chess Championship in Santa Clara, CA, with 4.5 out of 5 points:

https://www.facebook.com/susanpolgar/posts/10156687415966664

Susan Polgar

November 4, 2018

Naomi Bashkansky (Seattle area) just won the top section at the 3rd Annual North American All-Girls Chess Championships! In addition to the big trophy, she also won a $52,000 scholarship to Webster University! Congratulations!

The $52,000 scholarship award to Webster University, as a ratio to the trip cost, made it ~ 100 times return on investment ;-)

The weekend trip to Bay Area was a lot of fun for the three of us, here are our two daily Google Photos albums as proof:

2018-11-03 North American All-Girls Chess Championship in Santa Clara -- Biltmore Hotel, Rounds 1 and 2, Intel Museum, San Pedro Square, Santana Row

2018-11-04 North American All-Girls Chess Championship in Santa Clara -- Rose Garden, Egyptian Museum, Naomi 1st place, award ceremony, Winchester Mystery House

Susan Polgar Foundation Girls’ Invitational

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

Video: https://www.facebook.com/susanpolgarchess/videos/1784422264937569

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:

https://www.themaven.net/chessdailynews/scholastic/5-way-tie-for-1st-at-2018-spfgi-konovalenko-wins-playoff-photos-standings-6bum_IAKi0KhVd-3knOwDQ/

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:

https://www.themaven.net/chessdailynews/womens/why-is-there-a-need-for-some-all-girls-or-women-s-chess-tournaments-jchwvXHHk0SuodXKDF7FFQ/

Susan Polgar Girls Invitational in St. Louis

Naomi won 1st place under 12, and got $1000 for the World Youth Chess  Championship!
Also, she shared 2nd place in blitz.

Quoting chronologically from https://chessdailynews.com/12th-annual-spf-girls-invitational-at-webster-university/, added photos courtesy Paul Truong:

12th annual Susan Polgar Foundation Girls’ Invitational at Webster University

All photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/116302832360230031699/SPFGirlsInvitational2015

Saturday, July 25 - Arrival Day

4:30 pm – 6:00 pm Game Analyses with SPICE students

7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Swimming – University Center Indoor Pool

Sunday, July 26

9:00 am – 12:00 pm: Training

Naomi with Susan Polgar:

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm: City Tour

4:00 pm – 4:30 pm: Puzzle Solving Championship

4:30 pm – 6:00 pm Game Analyses with SPICE students

7:30 pm – 9:30 pm: Bughouse Championship

Monday, July 27

9:45 am Campus Tour

1:00 pm Opening Ceremony

2:00 pm Tournament Round 1

Round 1 pairings: https://chessdailynews.com/spf-girls-invitational-round-1/

8:00 pm – 10:00 pm: Blitz Championship -- Naomi shared 2nd place!

Tuesday, July 28

9:30 am Tournament Round 2

Round 2 pairings: https://chessdailynews.com/spf-girls-invitational-round-2-pairings-3/

& Friends & Family Event starts

3:00 pm Tournament Round 3

Round 3 pairings: https://chessdailynews.com/spf-girls-invitational-round-3-pairings-2/

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Swimming – University Center Indoor Pool

Wednesday, July 29

9:30 am Tournament Round 4

Round 4 pairings: https://chessdailynews.com/spf-girls-invitational-round-4-pairings/

3:00 pm Tournament Round 5

Round 5 pairings: https://chessdailynews.com/spf-girls-invitational-round-5-pairings-2/

Thursday, July 30

9:30 am Tournament Round 6

Round 6 pairings: https://chessdailynews.com/spf-girls-invitational-final-round-pairings-2/

3:00 pm Closing Ceremony

4:00 pm Departure

Naomi won 1st place in the Under-12 category, and got $1000 for the World Youth Chess  Championship!