August 28th, 2008 
Chris Bird Here is an interview with Jorge Sammour-Hasbun, Ilya Krasik and Denys Shmelov taken after their 3-1 opening day win against the New York Knights.
Jorge responds to Shaba’s trash talk while Ilya and Denys both explain why they were amazed with their respective opponent’s play.
July 18th, 2008 Chris Bird Boston Blitz player Denys Shmelov is the latest subject of Chess Chat, which broadcasts on the Fitchburg Access Television channel in Massachusetts. You can watch the episode here which includes a run through of Shmelov’s game against WIM Tatev Abrahamyan from last year’s World Open.
June 3rd, 2008 Chris Bird 
Blitz All-Star, National Master Denys Konstantinovic Shmelov, 21, of Pepperell won the 77th Massachusetts Open, held May 24-26 at the Holiday Inn in Boxborough. The 21-year-old Ukrainian native, recently crowned champion of the Metrowest Chess Club in Natick, scored 5 points out of 6 in an Open section field of 24 players. He is the first non-FIDE-titled master to win the coveted state championship title since 1999.
Capturing 2nd place with a 4½ points was Blitz Alternate, International Master Igor Foygel of Brookline, who drew Shmelov in the fifth round. Sharing 3rd place and the top Under 2300 prize with 4 points was another Blitz All-Star, National Master Chris Williams of Brighton, along with National Master Alex Cherniack of Watertown and 17-time Massachusetts Open champion, FIDE Master John Curdo of Auburn. Winning the top Under 2200 prize was Blitz team member, Ilya Krasik of Acton, who tallied 3½.
(report by MACA)
December 16th, 2007 Chris Bird All four of the Boston Blitz “regulars” were given honors on the 2007 USCL All Star Teams, which were decided by the league using various criteria.
Jorge Sammour-Hasbun made the 1st team on board 2 after finishing the season with a record of 6 wins, 1 draw and no losses from his 7 games. His performance rating for the season was a whopping 2833, the highest of any player in the USCL this season. The only blemish on his record was his draw with GM Hikaru Nakamura, the highest rated player in USCL history! Jorge also took the USCL honor of Rookie of the Year!
Denys Shmelov received 2nd team honors on board 3 for his rock solid performances all year for the Blitz. Denys finished with a record of 4 wins, 6 draws and just 1 loss, which came in the semi-final win over New York when the match score was already decided in the Blitz’s favor. Denys was close to taking 1st team honors but lost out thanks to the USCL Final heroics of Dallas’ IM Jacek Stopa.
Chris Williams also received 2nd team honors on board 4 for coming up big for the Blitz on numerous occasions during the season. According to the voters, Chris would have taken 1st board honors had he managed to draw or win in the USCL Final against Bayaraa Zorigt to capture the title for the Blitz, but it was not to be. Chris ended up with a final record of 6 wins and 3 losses in his first season for the Blitz.
GM Larry Christiansen was the other Blitz player to make the All Star teams capturing the honor of 3rd team All Star on board 1. Larry’s rock solid record of 2 wins, 8 draws and no losses, especially against a field of other strong players in the league was the perfect compliment to the efforts of Denys and Chris on boards 3 and 4.
Here are the complete All Star Teams for the 2007 United States Chess League:
| All Star Team 1 | |||
| Board | Player | Record | Perf. Rating |
| 1 | GM Julio Becerra (Miami) | 7/10 | 2738 |
| 2 | Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (Boston) | 6½/7 | 2833 |
| 3 | IM Jacek Stopa (Dallas) | 4½/6 | 2555 |
| 4 | WFM Iryna Zenyuk (New York) | 5½/8 | 2398 |
| All Star Team 2 | |||
| Board | Player | Record | Perf. Rating |
| 1 | GM Joel Benjamin (New Jersey) | 6/9 | 2734 |
| 2 | IM Davorin Kuljasevic (Dallas) | 6½/8 | 2703 |
| 3 | Denys Shmelov (Boston) | 7/11 | 2471 |
| 4 | Chris Williams (Boston) | 6/9 | 2345 |
| All Star Team 3 | |||
| Board | Player | Record | Perf. Rating |
| 1 | GM Larry Christiansen (Boston) | 6/10 | 2719 |
| 2 | IM Vinay Bhat (San Francisco) | 6/8 | 2689 |
| 3 | IM Jay Bonin (New York) | 5½/8 | 2506 |
| 4 | WFM Bayaraa Zorigt (Dallas) | 3½/6 | 2240 |
September 12th, 2007 Chris Bird Interview with Boston Blitz’s Denys Shmelov after his win against Daniel Yeager from the Philadelphia Inventors in week 3 of the 2007 United States Chess League.
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