IM Dean Ippolito, Photo Betsy Dynako Chicago 09
As the founder of the Dean of Chess Academy, tournament leader Ippolito splits his time between playing and his business, with the latter often getting the lion's share. But as his result so far shows, he should not be underestimated. In round four, Ippolito beat GM Alexander Ivanov for the first time in a very intense ending with both players in time pressure over the final 10-15 moves. In the final position, Ivanov flagged.
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Here's another of Dean's victories over US Chess League All Star Eric Rodriguez.
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Saturday evening, GM Alex Ivanov gave an 8 board simul, winning some games so fast that he graciously played a second game with a few players. He won all games except a loss versus young Ecuadorian FM Bryan Macias Murillo ( FIDE 2375). In round 3, they met over the board in the traditional way. GM Ivanov extracted his revenge in the following game:
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The tournament features some strong incentives to play up, including daily upset prizes in each of the top 4 sections. The Open section winner in Round one was young David Kaufman who beat NM Scott Low in the following game.
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Follow standings on the tournament website and look for more on CLO when the event concludes.