YURY Shulman, who came to America nine years ago thanks to a chess scholarship in Texas, dominated the 2008 US Championship with a 7-2 winning score on Wednesday.

Shulman, the third-highest-rated player in the 24-man field in Tulsa, Okla., took command at the midway point when he defeated three grandmasters – Sergey Kudrin, Julio Becerra and Gregory Kaidanov – in a row. He earned $8,000, and a Caribbean cruise, by clinching clear first place with a last-round draw.

The 33-year-old former champion of Belarus was recruited in 1999 by the University of Texas at Dallas, which has become one of the powerhouses of intercollegiate chess by offering scholarships to foreign and US masters.

Unlike some other hired guns in college chess, Shulman graduated, with a business and computer science degree. He continued his chess as a player and teacher after settling in the Chicago area. Shulman lost a two-game playoff for the championship in 2006 and tied for third in his two other appearances, in 2004 and 2007.

In this week’s game, 20 . . . Nxb3 would allow 21 Rxf8+ Bxf8 22 Bf6+ and mates.