On May 27, 10:54 am, Mike Murray wrote:

Did any Americans take part?

No. Only foreigners with Russian-sounding surnames
were allowed to enter this year.


Sadly very few...No Joel Benjamin,No Nick DeFirmian,No Larry
Christiansen...well at least Jay Bonin was there

You're showing your age here. Those guys are already
starting to trip over their surfer beards.


Stop this nonsense. All four
chess players which you have
mentioned in your first post
are Americans.

But have you actually *seen* their green cards?


But it would be reasonable, and not particularly xenophobic, to ask
about the percentage of players in the U.S. Championship who developed
their skills primarily in the United States.

That's easy; just look at the tournament crosstable
and count up from the bottom (the home-growns)
until you reach the first "...insky" or "...ov" surnames.
Then do the math.

---

These "Russian imports" probably serve to improve
the level of play here in America. I know that on the
local level, they certainly gave a kick in the pants to
a few of our rather complacent masters, who otherwise
would have merely indulged themselves in blitz chess
instead of studying to get back in the hunt.

Unfortunately, there is a reverse effect on the strong
imported players; they gradually become accustomed
to our lower level of play, and their own game begins
to slide. Perhaps this does not apply to the top
players, to the pros, but it was evident at the local
level.

-- hep bot