Expert player David Paulina upset GM Sergey Erenburg round one. Photo Betsy Dynako.

by Elizabeth Vicary

At the Chicago Open (May 25-28), many upsets quickly shook up the top score group. Jake Kleiman began a hot streak in round 2,beating GM Dashze Sharadorj. In rounds three and four, he drew GMs Akobian and Ramirez, before losing to Josh Friedel. But Jake is either exceptionally modest or has high standards for himself: Both times I congratulated him (after rounds 2 and 4), he looked surprised and asked "What for?"

In round one, expert David Paulina defeated Israeli GM Sergey Erenburg in a closed Sicilian.

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Jake Kleiman. Photo Betsy Dynako

Josh Friedel defeated U.S. Champion Alexander Shabalov round three.

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31....Qh3 was a mistake because after 32.Qxb5!, White wins a surplus of material for the queen. Instead, Qg6 or Qa2 threaten checkmates without leaving the rook on d7 pinned.


Josh Friedel beats Alexander Shabalov. Photo Betsy Dynako.

On the top boards, IM Alfonso Almeida won against GM Meab Gagunashvili in a sharp attacking game and GM Dmitry Gurevich defeated GM Ilya Smirin's King's Indian defense.

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Standings after round 5
1-3- Vadim Milov, Yury Shulman and Valeriy Aveskulov
4-8- Jaan Ehlvest, Mera Gagunashvili, Sergey Erenburg, Dmitry Gurevich and Josh Friedel


Stay tuned for the final Chicago Open article with more photos from Betsy Dynako and a full report by Elizabeth Vicary.