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Press Akobian and Shulman in a Californian Face-Off
Press Akobian and Shulman in a Californian Face-Off | Akobian and Shulman in a Californian Face-Off |
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| By Thomas Southerland | |
| April 1, 2009 | |
 We are pleased to announce Lake County California's first Grandmaster Invitational World Class Chess Event! California's #1 Grandmaster Varuzhan Akobian will face the U.S. Champion Grandmaster Yury Shulman in a four-day rapid match with a blitz finale. The two 2008 Olympic medallists will play for a $10,000 prize fund. The event will be hosted in the Robinson Rancheria's resort and casino. These are two of the United States' most popular Chess Celebrities with an Average rating of: 2630+ (Fide). GM Akobian's Recent Achievements: »2009 Gibtelcom Masters - 7.5/10 - Gibraltar, UK - 3rd Place Undefeated »2008 2nd Spice Cup - 5.5/9 - Lubbock, Texas - 1st Place Undefeated »2008 38th Chess Olympiad - 4/6 - Dresden, Germany - Bronze Medal »2008 Chicago Open - 5.5/7 - Chicago, Illinois - Champion »2008 Doeberl Cup - 7.5/9 - Canberra, Australia - Champion / clear 1st undefeated »2007 Miami Open - 6.5/9 - Miami, Florida - 1st Place - undefeated »2007 World Open - 6.5/9 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - World Open Champion »2007 Continental Chess Championship - 8/11 - Cali, Colombia - First Place GM Akobian won first place at 2nd Spice Cup! GM Akobian was featured on MTV's True Life in the episode "I'm a Genius". More: akobian.com GM Shulman: Beginnings: Yury was born in Belarus (former USSR) in 1975. His first formal chess lesson was at age 6 with coach Tamara Golovey. He started lessons with I.M. Albert Kapengut at 12, and subsequently studied under Boris Gelfald. Education: Yury attended Belarus State Politechnical Academy and completed his undergraduate studies at the State Academy of Sports, Belarus. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Dallas with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and an M.B.A. specializing in Finance. Publications: Since 1994, Yury has authored numerous articles on chess for publications including New in Chess, Chess Base Magazine, Chess Life and Chess Informant. Yury is also the co-author of Chess: Lessons From a Grandmaster , which was recently reviewed on Chess Life Online. Yury is the founder of the Yury Shulman Chess Without Borders not-for-profit organization. Yury and his volunteer community use chess as a medium for philanthropic causes. Since 2005 this included volunteer visits and book drives for Chicago public schools and contributions of a portion of tournament and chess camp proceeds to non-profit entities locally and worldwide. In 2008 GM Shulman became the U.S. Champion! More: shulmanchess.com/Welcome.html This Event will be held April 22nd-25th 2009 At Lake County California's Top destination: Robinson Rancheria Resort and Casino. R.S.V.P at www.rrrc.com for discount room rates and gaming specials. Free General Admission. (V.I.P. Access is available at the door.) Lake County is about 2 hrs. north of San Francisco in the beautiful wine country. Click here for map: rrrc.com/directions.html The games will be broadcast live! on the official site: chessmastered.com. Local airports: San Francisco and Santa Rosa with car rentals at both. All are welcome! Souvenir merchandise will be available online at chessmastered.com and on-site at Robinson Rancheria. (Autographed copies on site.) The organizer of this event is Thomas Southerland. |
