Quest for a first GM norm – part one

My quest for a first GM norm

By Akshat Chandra

From April 4 to April 13 the Marshall Chess Club in New York organized a GM Norm Invitational tournament. It was a nine-round, ten-player round-robin, and 6.5 points were required for a GM norm, five points for an IM norm. The participants included three GMs, four IMs and one FM. The players, by FIDE rating, were:

This was my first round-robin tournament. One of the benefits of such a tournament is that you don’t have to wait till the last few minutes before the round to learn who your opponent is and prepare for the game. The drawing of lots took place on April 1st, which gave the participants time to prepare accordingly.

The tournament was opened by Stuart Chagrin, Club President, and Dr. Marcus Fenner, Club Executive Director and Organizer. International Arbiter Dr. Frank Brady was the Chief TD. It was a wonderful and historic setting with the greats of the games peering down from the framed pictures on the walls. The wooden boards and the exquisite chess pieces added to the stature of the tournament, not to mention sitting a few tables away from the one on which Fischer and Capablanca both played.

Nearly all the games were decisive in the first round with only one draw. That was the game I played with GM Mark Paragua from Philippines. Mark is a really strong and experienced GM, with a peak rating of 2621. He surprised me in the opening by playing the Caro-Kann, which put me out of my preparation instantly. So much for the last couple of days of prep. Some inaccuracies on my side allowed him to equalize pretty quickly. I started to get low on time, and tried to trade pieces and force a draw. But that almost backfired, since I got into a passive queen endgame in which I nearly lost. Nonetheless, I managed to secure a draw with a perpetual check.

I was extremely relieved to save my first-round game. The initial nervousness and jitters were settling down. In my next game with black against IM Colomban Vitoux, I outplayed him and achieved a winning position. But in the ensuing time trouble I bungled my advantage and had to settle for a draw. I was disappointed with the outcome, but I knew my game was in the right place, and I had to manage the time. In the third round, I overcame IM Raja Panjwani, a strong IM from Canada, which put me on 2/3. I felt I was starting to hit my stride.

But then in the next game against FM Bodek, I was again forced to settle for a draw after bungling my winning advantage, once again due to time pressure. This was extremely frustrating since I was ruining well-played games due to my shoddy time management. I rebounded from the setback, and in Round five defeated Matt Herman, known for his striking attacks and picturesque finishes. Luckily, our game was much calmer and positional.

Going into the break after five rounds, there were four players mathematically in contention for a GM norm – Raja Panjwani, Michael Bodek, Matthew Herman and I.

– Part two to follow tomorrow –

Original source: USCF web site

About the author: Akshat Chandra

I'm 14-years-old and in Grade 10. I learnt chess when my family relocated to New Delhi, India, for a few years. Since I couldn’t play my regular sports of basketball and American football, I needed a new activity, and that’s when I stumbled into chess. I got pulled into it really quickly, and was fascinated by its intricacies and subtleties. I started playing in 2009, and received a FIDE rating of 1548 in January 2010. When I competitively got involved in chess I realized that at around ten years of age I’d started very late, compared to peers in US and India. The leading players in and around my age-group had started playing chess at five or six years of age, and were hundreds of Elo points above me. Whoa!

I played tournaments across India, and also in Europe. In March 2013 my family returned to the US, after which I became a regular member on the national chess circuit. I won the 2013 North American Youth Championship U18, and the SuperNationals K-9 in 2013, one of the largest chess tournaments in the world, with over 5000 players in all sections. It's not going to be easy to reach the coveted GM title, and it requires a lot of support and training. But like others before me who have walked the difficult road, I'll continue putting in the hard work that has got me so far in less than five years, from unrated to a 2440 IM. As famous American Football quarterback Joe Namath once said: "If you're not going all the way, then why go at all." More can be learnt about me and my quest to the GM title on my blog QuestToGM.