Samuel Sevian is trying to become the first US player to become a grandmaster before fourteen
For 13-year-old Sevian, it would bring him just a breath away from becoming the youngest US player gain the grandmaster title (he would still need to make the rating requirement), whereas for 15-year-old Chandra, he would become the poster boy of Obama's mantra "Yes, you can", as he too became a grandmaster when just five years ago he had been rated just over... 1500 Elo!
15-year-old Akshat Chandra is only one norm away from the GM title, yet five years ago
was rated just over 1500 Elo
The A section tournament had a strong field with a median rating of 2400 with 53 players in it, and was won by GM Sergei Azarov (BLR) with a score of 7.0/9 who took home the $4000 first place prize. A full point behind the winner, six players tied for second with 6.0/9: GM Yaroslav Zherebukh, GM Ioan Cristian Chirila, IM Akshat Chandra, IM Samuel Sevian, IM Levan Bregadze, and IM Justin Sarkar.
IM Jeffery Xiong finished with 5.5/9
Both IM Samuel Sevian and IM Akshat Chandra raced to their dreams and as fate would have it, the two met in the last round with a draw being sufficient for Sevian for the norm, while Chandra, playing black, needed a win as the average rating of his opponents was two Elo short.
Those future GMs start young. Very young.
Their encounter ended in a draw and Sevian scored a vital third norm, needing only to reach 2500 Elo to secure the title. For Chandra, it means he will need to try again, despite an ever-so-close result.
The dramatic last round game in which an early shake of the hands was out of the question
Final standings "A" Section
|
Rk
|
Name |
Rtg
|
Pts
|
|
1
|
GM Sergei Azarov |
2635
|
7.0
|
|
2
|
GM Yaroslav Zherebukh |
2625
|
6.0
|
|
3
|
GM Ioan Cristian Chirila |
2515
|
6.0
|
|
4
|
IM Akshat Chandra |
2472
|
6.0
|
|
5
|
IM Samuel Sevian |
2454
|
6.0
|
|
6
|
IM Levan Bregadze |
2435
|
6.0
|
|
7
|
IM Justin Sarkar |
2399
|
6.0
|
|
8
|
GM Illya Nyzhnyk |
2639
|
5.5
|
|
9
|
GM Oliver A Barbosa |
2551
|
5.5
|
|
10
|
GM Kayden W Troff |
2514
|
5.5
|
|
11
|
GM Bryan G Smith |
2478
|
5.5
|
|
12
|
IM Darwin Yang |
2478
|
5.5
|
|
13
|
IM Jeffery Xiong |
2442
|
5.5
|
|
14
|
IM Michael A Mulyar |
2411
|
5.5
|
|
15
|
GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez |
2566
|
5.0
|
|
16
|
GM Gi Margvelashvili |
2556
|
5.0
|
|
17
|
GM Mark C Paragua |
2487
|
5.0
|
|
18
|
IM Nikolay Andrianov |
2417
|
5.0
|
|
19
|
IM Keaton Kiewra |
2392
|
5.0
|
|
20
|
FM Seth Homa |
2378
|
5.0
|
To their credit, the organizers kept a steady flow of results, games and pictures at both their website and Facebook page. They are to be commended.
Pictures from the official Facebook page
