by Jennifer Shahade
Over 200 people came out to Cherry Hill, New Jersey on Saturday, July 28 (July 28-August 5) for one of two nine day long U.S. Open schedules. The hotel lobby at the Crowne Plaza was a funny mix of the chess crowd, cheerleading campers, and guests at a traditional Indian wedding.
GM Sergei Kudrin is the top seed in the traditional schedule, while Boris Gulko and heads the new Quick schedule, which consists of a daily G/60 8 PM game. 194 players entered the Open and 16 joined the quick. As usual, there are many talented young men and women playing, partly because of the concurrent Susan Polgar Championship for Girls and The Denker Tournament of High School Champions which began today, Sunday at 11 AM. There was also a blitz tournament on Saturday morning. The fifth seed,
NM Daniel Yeager placed first with 11/14, and won $360 for his efforts.
2007 U.S. Open Blitz Champ NM Daniel Yeager. Photo Michael Atkins.
IM Enrico Sevillano is the second seed in the Open section. The Filipino was wearing sunglasses and a green pendant. Unsurprisingly, he won his first game easily.
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Westly Russel drew against Warren Harper, who was rated almost 500 points higher than him. As is typical in such draws, Russel was better in the final position....
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Ashley Carter from Michigan. Photo Jennifer Shahade.
High school senior Ashley Carter, who is also playing in the Polgar, lost to UTD graduate Amon Simutowe.
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Look for more and more interesting games on CLO as the rating differentials become closer. Monroi.com starts live game coverage on Tuesday, July 31.