• Acylation of dimethyl malonate has been carried out using the combination of triethylamine and magnesium chloride (see Diethyl malonate, A15468, and Triethylamine, A12646, for discussion), followed by one-pot hydrolysis-decarboxylation of the acylmalonate derivative in wet DMSO, to give 5-acetyl-2-chloropyridine in good yield: Tetrahedron, 48, 9233 (1992).