 Also in 2000, he was one of eight grandmasters who tied for first in the World Open chess tournament, which was won by Joel Benjamin after a blitz playoff.His other first-place finishes include at the 1998 National Open, in which he tied for first with Jaan Ehlvest, Vladimir Epishin, Julian Hodgson and Evgeny Pigusov.He also shared first place at the 2000 Chesswise International Tournament with Ehlvest, and at the 38th American Open in 2002 with Yury Shulman.