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Chess Life Online 2010 January International Stars Grace Chicago Open
Chess Life Online 2010 January International Stars Grace Chicago Open | International Stars Grace Chicago Open |
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| May 28, 2010 | |
WIM Lorena Zepeda of El Salvador and GM Loek Van Wely of the Netherlands stopped at the US Championship Blitz Open in Saint Louis on their way to Chicago. Photo Betsy Dynako
The Chicago Open (May 27-31) has drawn an outstanding field of international GMs, including Michael Adams of England, Loek Van Wely of the Netherlands, Evgeny Najer of Russia and Daniel Fridman of Germany. Tournament director Walter Brown of the USCF told CLO, "Chicago Open has 147 players in the Open Section with 23 GM's and plenty of foreign players so we easily make the 20-10 rule on foreign rated and titles." Many US Championship contenders decided that Saint Louis warmed them up more than exhausted them. GMs Varuzhan Akobian, Aleksandr Lenderman, Melikset Khachiyan, Ben Finegold, Alex Yermolinsky, Jaan Ehlvest, Dmitry Gurevich and IM Sam Shankland are all playing. There were no major GM upsets in round 1, but Lawyer Times defeated FM Robby Adamson while young Saint Louis star Kevin Cao dispatched WIM Iryna Zenyuk. See games and standings on the official site, http://chicagoopen.net/. Find live games on Monroi. Also look for photos by Betsy Dynako and an exclusive wrap-up report as the event rolls on. |