Photo Betsy Dynako

The Las Vegas International Chess Festival's premier event, the National Open begins Friday, June 8, with a $100,000 prize fund. Round 1 is at 11 AM PST, and Round 2 at 6 PM PST. Access the complete schedule and information on side events.As typical for the National Open, the sides are just as exciting as the main course! The legendary Viktor Korchnoi and recently crowned U.S. Champion Alexander Shabalov are hosting simuls at the Riviera. Meanwhile, the Susan Polgar World Open for Boys (new!) and World Open for Girls give scholastic players all over the country the opportunity to compete and also to meet Susan.

GM Alexander Shabalov often plays in the National Open but this year he was unsure until he won the U.S. Championship and the special prize of free airfare and accomodation for the National Open in Las Vegas. His only recorded loss out of 20+ simul games was the following tactical melle. Generally, the best way to approach a simul to mix it up (assuming this fits your style to a certain extent.), because the grandmaster has little time to calculate and is mostly relying on intuition.

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CLO will keep you updated with daily reports and photos from the National Open. For lives games, go to monroi.com's 2007 National Open section.