Upcoming Tournaments

The Chicago Open starts May 22nd and ends May 26th. I am probably going to go to it. This year it is in Wheeling at the Westin North Shore hotel. The last time I went to this tournament was in 2009. I ended the tournament with a 4/7 score (4 wins and 3 losses). I was not very pleased with the result even though I DID gain some rating points from it. I feel confident to get 5/7 or hopefully even 6/7 this year (high expectations). I have been to this tournament a couple times in my teens and it is the biggest one I have ever been too.

Currently the U.S. Chess Championship is going on at the Saint Louis Chess Club. It started May 7th and ends May 20th. Players are battling over a $172,000 total prize fund. First place wins $45,000. Some of the contestants include Gata Kamsky (last year's winner), Timur Gareev, Alex Onischuk, and Varuzhan Akobian. The games start at 1:00 pm Central Time Zone. I, myself, hope to get out there soon and watch a few of the games. Thanks for reading and I will keep you all posted on my chess activities.