US Class Champs Set for Oct 1-3 in Houston
By Franc Guadalupe   
September 16, 2010
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GM Timur Gareyev
The 2010 U.S. Class Chess Championships will be held at the beautiful facilities of the Hilton Houston Hobby Airport Hotel during the weekend of 1-3 October.   This year’s event brings to Houston some of the top players in the U.S., thanks to two universities whose chess programs are among the best in the country – University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) and University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB).  Among those competing in the Masters Division will be Grandmaster Timur Gareyev (UTB) who in the last three months won the Copper State International, the National Open, and the College Tournament of Champions , Grandmaster Axel Bachmann (UTB), Grandmaster Ioan Chirila (UTD), International Master Marko Zivanic (UTD), International Master Puchen Wang (UTD), International Master Salvijus Bercys (UTD), International Master Julio Sadorra (UTD), and International Master Daniel Fernandez (former student of both UTD and UTB).  
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GM Ioan Chirila, here pictured at the 2010 Soutwest Open
This event was last held in Houston two years ago, and it drew 193 players.  The organizers are hoping to surpass that number this year.  Some of the top games will be transmitted live at http://monroi.com/. For additional information and registration, please visit the tournament webpage.