Junior Closed will be exciting after Xiong's 1st-place at Chicago Open

International Master Jeffery Xiong was the surprise winner of the Chicago Open, earning him over $10,000 in prize money at the strongest annual event held over Memorial Day weekend. Jeffery won the event in style, beating Grandmasters Avrukh and Bruzon in the final two rounds, both of whom are higher rated than the 14-year-old phenom.

Jeffery is well known to the fans of the U.S. Chess League, scoring well for Dallas over recent years. Jeffery has played in the last three U.S. Junior Closed Championships, and he will once again attempt to earn the coveted U.S. Championship qualification spot by winning the 2015 U.S. Junior Closed, held July 6 - 16 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.

Also doing well in Chicago were Webster student Ashwin Jayaram who earned his fifth (!) GM norm and Matt Larson, who tied for 2nd in the U2300 section.

Here is Xiong’s last round win against Bruzon, winning a drawn ending against a much more experienced opponent.