Barrington's Shulman wins U.S. chess title

Barrington's Yury Shulman can now add U.S. Chess champion to his impressive resume.

After a nine-day tournament, Shulman was crowned champion Wednesday at the U.S. Chess Championships in Tulsa, Okla.

"It feels very nice to be a first-time U.S. champion," Shulman, 33, said just after his final match.

Having played in the tournament before -- finishing second, fourth and fifth in previous years -- Shulman said he knew what to expect.

"I was a little bit nervous," he said, "but I felt quite confident."

Sanctioned by the U.S. Chess Federation, the tournament is a nine-round event with 24 participants, including 12 of the 18 top-ranked players in the country.

The field included defending champion Alex Shabalov and 13 other grandmasters.

"The competition was very tough," Shulman said.

For winning, he takes home an $8,000 cash prize and gets a weeklong Caribbean cruise in October.

Shulman said he will represent the U.S. at the 38th annual Chess Olympiad in Germany in November.

A native of Belarus, Shulman moved to Barrington in 2005.

Over his years of playing, he's amassed numerous titles, including national Belarus champion in 1994, European junior champion in 1995, Texas state champion in 2000, Illinois state champion in 2005 and winner of the U.S. Open championship in 2006.

After arriving in Barrington, Shulman opened his International Chess School, which teaches the game to students throughout the Northwest suburbs.

Kiran Frey, a volunteer who helps run Barrington's Chess Without Borders program with Shulman, said she's expects all his students to be very excited.

"I think this is wonderful," Frey said. "The children are going to be absolutely hysterical."

To learn more about Shulman, visit www.shulmanchess.com.