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By Blas Lugo   
August 15, 2008
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The right type of place for chess: The Hyatt Regency in sunny Miami.

If you haven't made plans yet for the Miami Open (Sept 10-14) , be sure to check out the tournament details below and then sign up to play in the World Chess Live's online qualifier this weekend, August 16-17.

The qualifier is free to USCF members and there are prizes for six rating sections. The 1st prize includes entry fee and hotel at the Miami Open as well as 12 months of World chess Live, in addition to the six free you get as a USCF member. Go to World Chess Live for more information on schedule, prizes and entry requirements.

Still not convinced? Check out CLO's coverage of Miami from last year and a press release from Blas Lugo below.

 U.S. Champions Return to Play Sunshine Chess in Miami

Miami, Aug. 10, 2008- Irina Krush, two-time US Women Champion, and Alexander Shabalov, four-time US Champion, announced recently they will repeat their participation in the Miami Chess Open, which boasts 100,000$ in prizes. The event will take place September 10-14 at the Magic City's Hyatt Regency (400 SE 2nd Ave. Tel: (305) 358-1234.) Grandmasters Varuzhan Akobian, Victor Mikhalevski, Darmen Sadvakasov, Julio Becerra and Gilberto Hernández will also return to play the second edition of this tournament. New faces include American GMs Alexander Ivanov, Dmitri Gurevich, and the Mexican GM Juan Carlos Gonzalez.

There are three different schedules to choose from, the 5-day Sept 10-14 (Open only), Sept 11-14, the 4-day and the 3-day, Sept 12-14.
The event will also include game analysis and simultaneous exhibitions by grandmasters and the most outstanding players of the event: Check out Miami Open's highlighted player bios:

  • IM Irina Krush (2534 USCF), became a master at age 12, and won the 1998 US Women’s Championships at the age of 14, to become the youngest U.S. Women Champion ever. In 1994, she played second board for the silver-medal-winning American Women team at the 36th Olympiad. And in 2007, she reclaimed the title of U.S. Women’s champion.
  • GM Alexander Shabalov (2656 USCF) has been US champion in 1993, 2000, 2003, and 2007, and is known for an uncompromising attacking style, always courting complications. Shabalov, with a USCF rating of 2656, studied under former world champion and fellow Rigan Mikhail Tal, but later he immigrated to the United States and settled in Pittsburgh.
  • GM Varuzhan Akobian (2660 USCF), who will represent the United States in the next Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany, is a former US Junior Champion, and winner of the World Open (2 times), the North American Open and the National Open.
  • GM Darmen Sadvakasov (26 32 FIDE), from Kazakhstan, won the World Junior Championship in 1998, and also won matches against Viktor Korchnoi in 2003 by the score 5-3 and former World Champion Anatoly Karpov in 2004 by the score 4.5-3.5.
  • GM Victor Mikhalevski (2675 USCF) was born in Belarus, but currently resides in Israel, where he was twice champion under 20 (1991, 1992). He is a grandmaster since 1996 and he won the 1995 Paris Open, 2002 Firsts International Tournament in El Salvador and 2007 Calvia Open. 
  • GM Julio Becerra (2640 USCF and 4-time Cuban champion)
  • GM Alexander Ivanov (2612 USCF, US Champion in 1995, and Pan-American Champion in 1998), GM Dmitry Gurevich (2581 USCF, and winner of the US Open in 1988 and 1994)
  • Cuban born Mexican Champion Juan Carlos González (2556 FIDE)
  • 3-time Mexican Champion Gilberto Hernandez (2592 USCF) 
  • WFM Yulia Cardona (2257) who was the second highest rated female player in Cuba before she arrived to the US.
100,000 USD in prizes will be given with 70% of these prizes guaranteed regardless of the amount of players who sign up. There will be eight different sections: Open, under 2100,under 1900,under 1700, under 1500, under 1300, under 1100 and Unrated.

The party is about to begin! Don’t miss it!

Blas Lugo
Tournament director
www.themiamichessopen.com
www.miamichess.com
305-262-2700
 
 
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