(Photograph of IM Josh Friedel from the official US Championship blog.)I just spoke with IM Josh Friedel on ICC and confirmed what has been reported in the rumor mill. Playing in Tulsa at the US Championship, Josh now stands a half point away from his third and final Grandmaster norm. His pairing tomorrow is a dream: white against GM Yury Shulman, who needs just a draw to clinch 1st place and the title of US Champion. Since both players will benefit greatly from a draw, I think the only remaining question is how many moves they will play? Will Josh be the first to congratulate Yury?
Stay tuned tomorrow at 12:15pm PDT for the final round of the US Championship. Games will be broadcast live on both ICC and MonRoi. My apologies for not covering the US Championship more, but I was swamped and sleep-deprived over the weekend with the CalChess Scholastics.
Update on Wednesday at 12:30pm: Josh Friedel and Yury Shulman played 11 moves in the exchange French before they agreed to a draw. Congratulations to US Champion Yury Shulman and to Grandmaster-elect Josh Friedel! I expect to post more on the US Championship later tonight after all games finish.
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