FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	                   Contact:	Eric C. Johnson
June 19, 1998                               (845) 562-8350
Press Release #33 of 1998

TOP U.S. PLAYERS TO COMPETE IN DENVER

The top 16 players in the country will compete for an enhanced prize fund of $72,000.

In the preliminary round, the field will be divided into two 8-player Round Robins. The top two finishers in each section will advance to the semi-finals.

The two survivors from the semi-final round will then meet in the finals for a four-game match to determine the 1998 U.S. Champion.

The preliminary round rosters include:

Group One

• GM Alexander Shabalov, 30, of Pittsburgh, Pa.
• GM Nick de Firmian, 40, formerly of New York, N.Y. (now residing in Denmark)
• GM Yasser Seirawan, 38, of Seattle, Wash.
• GM Larry Christiansen, 42, of Cambridge, Mass.
• GM Dmitry Gurevich, 42, of Chicago, Ill.
• GM Roman Dzindzichashvili, 54, of E. Boston, Mass.
• GM Sergey Kudrin, 38, of Chestnut Hill, Mass.
• IM Igor Ivanov, 51, of Payson, Ariz.

Group Two

• GM Gregory Kaidanov, 38, of Lexington, Ky.
• GM Alex Yermolinsky, 40, of Euclid, Ohio
• GM Boris Gulko, 51, of Fairlawn, N.J.
• GM Joel Benjamin, 34, of New York, N.Y.
• GM Gabriel Schwartzman, 21, of Gainesville, Fla.
• GM John Fedorowicz, 39, of New York, N.Y.
• IM Leonid Sokolin, 31, of Brooklyn, N.Y.
• GM Tal Shaked, 20, of Tucson, Ariz.

For more information about the 1998 Interplay U.S. Championship, check the USCF website at www.uschess.org.

For more information about this and other chess events, contact Assistant Director Eric C. Johnson, U.S. Chess Federation, 3054 NYS Route 9W, New Windsor, NY 12553; phone: (845) 562-8350; FAX: (914) 561-2437; or see our weekly news column on the World Wide Web: http://www.uschess.org.