Grandmaster Yury Shulman is one of the strongest players in the USA and in the world. He’s the top player in Illinois and is currently ranked 26th out of all players in America. Hailing from Belarus, he began playing chess when he was six years old. He achieved the Grandmaster title 20 years ago and […]
Ranked in the top 100, International Master Cyrus Lakdawala is one of the strongest players in the USA. He is an active tournament player, a dedicated teacher and promoter of the game, and a prolific writer, having authored over 20 books. Lakdawala also has numerous accolades to his name; he is an American Open and […]
John Donaldson is indisputably one of the most noteworthy individuals in chess in America today. An International Master of the sport, Donaldson has authored numerous works of chess literature, played in the US Chess Championship, and captained the US National Chess Team to much success in international competition; currently, he is the Director of the […]
Both becoming National Masters before the age of 13, James Black and Joshua Colas are nothing short of being chess prodigies. In October 2014, these chess whizzes came to the Cleveland Scholastic Open to participate in the tournament and to inspire everyone to further pursue chess. Prior to the tournament, we asked James (JB) and […]
Maurice Ashley has always been one to make history. Whether it was becoming the first African-American Grandmaster or organizing a chess tournament with the largest prize fund ever, Ashley has consistently been a trailblazer. We had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Ashley about his latest business venture called the Millionaire Chess Open, his experiences […]