he  revamped format of the U.S. Chess Championship will promise an exciting tournament as each of the 64 players qualified through a variety of tournaments. Each player had their own challenges of making it to America's most prestigious tournament and that virtue, will produce a number of interesting stories.

This year's tournament will feature: Gata Kamsky (a former World Championship contender and former top 10 player), most of the men's and women's U.S. Olympiad players, teenage sensation Hikaru Nakamura, five Cuban émigrés, a Mongolian couple, strong veterans and many strong junior ranks.

Alexander Shabalov and Jennifer Shahade are the defending champions. The latter winning a tournament earlier in this year after an organizational mistake which left Anna Hahn off the Olympiad training team. Thus, this tournament is dubbed the "2005 U.S. Chess Championship." Hopefully, this year's championship will not result in the drama that has plagued U.S. Chess for the past year. Look for an exciting tournament!