SAINT LOUIS (July 11, 2012) — Round 1 of the 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Championship begins today in Saint Louis, and the marquee match-up pits GM-elect conrad Holt against IM Darwin Yang, who recently secured his second GM norm last month at the New York International. The first round begins at 11 a.m. CT, Noon EST, and the event will feature live play-by-play from GM Ben Finegold and FM Aviv Friedman. Round two will take place today at 5 p.m. CT, 6 p.m. ET.

Access the live commentary by visiting www.uschesschamps.com/live.

Tournament play will run through July 15, and the event will feature two rounds per day. The event features an overall prize fund of $18,000.

The group of 16 players has been split into two fields of eight players each. The eight players will play one another in a round robin, and the winner of each field will play a head-to-head, two-game match for the title. If the score is tied after two games, there will be a playoff to determine the 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Champion.

Click here to find the round-by-round pairings: www.uschesschamps.com/standings-and-games.

The list of invited players and current USCF ratings is as follows:

• IM Marc Arnold (2612)
• IM Conrad Holt (2580)
• IM Darwin Yang (2562)
• IM Daniel Naroditsky (2552)
• FM Victor Shen (2532)
• NM Robert Perez (2519)
• NM Will Fisher (2436)
• FM Eric Rosen (2422)
• FM Alec Getz (2410)
• FM Jeffery Xiong (2394)
• NM Raven Sturt (2387)
• NM Atulya Shetty (2379)
• FM Kayden Troff (2368)
• NM Justus Williams (2318)
• NM Kevin Cao (2230)
• NM Matthew Michaelides (2164)

The 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Champion also will receive an invitation to the 2013 U.S. Championship and the 2013 U.S. Junior Closed Championship.

For more information on the players, prizes, pairings and more, visit www.uschesschamps.com.