Shulman continues rampage!

Since finishing his graduate studies at University of Texas-Dallas, Yury Shulman has found a home in the Chicago area and has also found a rejuvenated chess game. At the U.S. Open, Shulman scored a sizzling 8/9 to nudge out 10 others including Peru's Emilio Cordova and the surprising Michael Aigner… all on 7½-1½.

Since relocating to Chicago, Shulman has scored good results including a stellar 2nd place result at the U.S. Championship. This victory was accented by a crucial win over contender Alexander Shabalov. He was able to hold off a surging Cordova in the final round to clinch the win. According to the USCF website, Shulman credits his recent wave of success to training his students.

Cordova is a fascinating story. At 15 years of age is heralded as the next bright star in Latin America. He gained notoriety by crushing Ilya Smirin at the 2006 Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy and soon after, won the IM title. He rises from the trail of established masters such GM Julio Granda-Zuniga to become the brightest star in Latin America since GM Alejandro Ramirez of Costa Rica.

Michael Aigner (2311 USCF) had one of the best tournaments of his career as he tallied 7½-1½ including key wins over IM Tim Taylor and an exciting last round draw with GM John Federowicz. The California native is very active on the west coast (as both a player and organizer) despite a debilitating condition. His story is an inspiring one that proves that chess transcends many differences in physical stature. One could overhear many players talking about Aigner's wonderful run.

There were 12 players knotted at 7-2 including IM-elect Emory Tate whose only loss was to Shulman. Tate played his usual exciting chess and ended the tournament mating veteran Hal Terrie. Nigeria's Chikwere Onyekwere also played inspired chess and ended on 7-2. He is the latest of African nationals to arrive on the U.S. circuit and do well. FM Farai Mandizha of Zimbabwe earned an IM norm at the World Open, but was unable to play in the U.S. Open as he taking part in the Zimbabwe National Championship. Teenage phenom Tony Cao was one of two Expert-level players to score 7-2.

Posted by The Chess Drum: 17 August 2006