Fantasy Chess Update: Round Five
By Arun Sharma   
May 12, 2009
The fifth round of the 2009 U.S. Championship did not change the standings an excessive amount with many of the same names near the top.  With the tournament winner still very much up in the air though, the contest is just as uncertain.  Fortunately, on the second day no one is at the ignominious 0 point total.

Here are the Top Five Entrants.  Remember to login at http://uschess.org/fc_2009/ to review your selections and see your current ranking.

1st Place:  Burt Salisbury 71.0 Points

GM Gata Kamsky (2798, 2720) < GM Hikaru Nakamura (2757, 2701) 3
GM Alex Onischuk (2736, 2684) < GM Yury Shulman (2697, 2632) 2
GM Varuzhan Akobian (2664, 2612) = GM Julio Becerra (2672, 2609) 5
GM Larry Christiansen (2681, 2588) = GM Alex Shabalov (2620, 2569) 4
GM Joel Benjamin (2650, 2583) > GM Gregory Kaidanov (2662, 2595) 1
GM Jaan Ehlvest (2649, 2606) > GM Ildar Ibragimov (2628, 2586) 6
GM Boris Gulko (2631, 2561) < GM Melikset Khachiyan (2632, 2546) 7
GM Josh Friedel (2568, 2516) < GM-elect Robert Hess (2545, 2485) 12
IM Irina Krush (2496, 2452) > IM Anna Zatonskih (2503, 2461) 11
IM Ray Robson (2542, 2465) = IM Sam Shankland (2464, 2446) 10
IM Michael Brooks (2419, 2463) * > IM Enrico Sevillano (2549, 2520) 9
NM Tyler Hughes (2293, 2230) > NM Charles Lawton (2350, None) 8

2nd Place:  Jonathan Ingellis 63.0 Points

GM Gata Kamsky (2798, 2720) = GM Hikaru Nakamura (2757, 2701) 12
GM Alex Onischuk (2736, 2684) > GM Yury Shulman (2697, 2632) 9
GM Varuzhan Akobian (2664, 2612) > GM Julio Becerra (2672, 2609) 5
GM Larry Christiansen (2681, 2588) < GM Alex Shabalov (2620, 2569) 1
GM Joel Benjamin (2650, 2583) = GM Gregory Kaidanov (2662, 2595) 4
GM Jaan Ehlvest (2649, 2606) > GM Ildar Ibragimov (2628, 2586) 10
GM Boris Gulko (2631, 2561) < GM Melikset Khachiyan (2632, 2546) 6
GM Josh Friedel (2568, 2516) < GM-elect Robert Hess (2545, 2485) 8
IM Irina Krush (2496, 2452) > IM Anna Zatonskih (2503, 2461) 2
IM Ray Robson (2542, 2465) > IM Sam Shankland (2464, 2446) 7
IM Michael Brooks (2419, 2463) * > IM Enrico Sevillano (2549, 2520) 11
NM Tyler Hughes (2293, 2230) > NM Charles Lawton (2350, None) 3

3rd Place:  Michael Atkins 60.5 Points

GM Gata Kamsky (2798, 2720) = GM Hikaru Nakamura (2757, 2701) 9
GM Alex Onischuk (2736, 2684) < GM Yury Shulman (2697, 2632) 12
GM Varuzhan Akobian (2664, 2612) > GM Julio Becerra (2672, 2609) 10
GM Larry Christiansen (2681, 2588) < GM Alex Shabalov (2620, 2569) 5
GM Joel Benjamin (2650, 2583) > GM Gregory Kaidanov (2662, 2595) 4
GM Jaan Ehlvest (2649, 2606) < GM Ildar Ibragimov (2628, 2586) 6
GM Boris Gulko (2631, 2561) = GM Melikset Khachiyan (2632, 2546) 7
GM Josh Friedel (2568, 2516) < GM-elect Robert Hess (2545, 2485) 11
IM Irina Krush (2496, 2452) > IM Anna Zatonskih (2503, 2461) 8
IM Ray Robson (2542, 2465) > IM Sam Shankland (2464, 2446) 3
IM Michael Brooks (2419, 2463) * > IM Enrico Sevillano (2549, 2520) 2
NM Tyler Hughes (2293, 2230) < NM Charles Lawton (2350, None) 1

4th Place:  David Lubold 60.5 Points

GM Gata Kamsky (2798, 2720) = GM Hikaru Nakamura (2757, 2701) 11
GM Alex Onischuk (2736, 2684) > GM Yury Shulman (2697, 2632) 12
GM Varuzhan Akobian (2664, 2612) > GM Julio Becerra (2672, 2609) 9
GM Larry Christiansen (2681, 2588) > GM Alex Shabalov (2620, 2569) 10
GM Joel Benjamin (2650, 2583) > GM Gregory Kaidanov (2662, 2595) 8
GM Jaan Ehlvest (2649, 2606) > GM Ildar Ibragimov (2628, 2586) 7
GM Boris Gulko (2631, 2561) = GM Melikset Khachiyan (2632, 2546) 5
GM Josh Friedel (2568, 2516) < GM-elect Robert Hess (2545, 2485) 6
IM Irina Krush (2496, 2452) > IM Anna Zatonskih (2503, 2461) 3
IM Ray Robson (2542, 2465) > IM Sam Shankland (2464, 2446) 4
IM Michael Brooks (2419, 2463) * < IM Enrico Sevillano (2549, 2520) 2
NM Tyler Hughes (2293, 2230) > NM Charles Lawton (2350, None) 1

5th Place:  Ilya Krasik 59.0 Points

GM Gata Kamsky (2798, 2720) < GM Hikaru Nakamura (2757, 2701) 2
GM Alex Onischuk (2736, 2684) < GM Yury Shulman (2697, 2632) 1
GM Varuzhan Akobian (2664, 2612) > GM Julio Becerra (2672, 2609) 10
GM Larry Christiansen (2681, 2588) > GM Alex Shabalov (2620, 2569) 4
GM Joel Benjamin (2650, 2583) < GM Gregory Kaidanov (2662, 2595) 5
GM Jaan Ehlvest (2649, 2606) > GM Ildar Ibragimov (2628, 2586) 6
GM Boris Gulko (2631, 2561) < GM Melikset Khachiyan (2632, 2546) 11
GM Josh Friedel (2568, 2516) = GM-elect Robert Hess (2545, 2485) 7
IM Irina Krush (2496, 2452) > IM Anna Zatonskih (2503, 2461) 9
IM Ray Robson (2542, 2465) = IM Sam Shankland (2464, 2446) 12
IM Michael Brooks (2419, 2463) * < IM Enrico Sevillano (2549, 2520) 3
NM Tyler Hughes (2293, 2230) = NM Charles Lawton (2350, None) 8