Fall 2019 CCCSA GM/IM Norm Invitational!

Author: Grant Oen, CCCSA Assistant Director

CCCSA's 12th GM/IM Norm Invitational Tournament

This Thanksgiving weekend, Wednesday November 27 - Sunday December 1, the Charlotte Chess Center will organize our twelfth GM/IM norm invitational.

These seasonal norm tournaments offer special opportunities for players to earn international (FIDE) norms and titles, including Grandmaster and International Master.  24 norms and 12 titles have been earned at these events.  Five players have earned their Grandmaster titles in Charlotte: GM Andrew Tang, GM John Michael Burke, GM Steven Zierk, GM Nicolas Checa, and GM Michael Brown.

Three players at this event can earn their final GM norms: IM Brandon Jacobson (New Jersey), IM 

Kassa Korley (Denmark), and IM Eylon Nakar (Israel).  There are two sections, each a 9 game round robin (all-play-all) held at the Charlotte Chess Center.

The official website can be found here, while games and standings can be found here.  Live games will be also be available on chess24 and Follow Chess.

Norm hunters can earn FIDE norms with a score of at least 6.5 out of 9 in the GM norm section or 6.0/9 in the IM norm section.  The 20 player field includes 4 Grandmasters, 8 International Masters, 6 FIDE Masters, and 2 National Masters from 9 countries (Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, India, Israel, Mexico, Poland, Spain, and the United States) and 8 states (Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia).

Pairings, standings, and live games can be found here.

PLAYERS

GM Section (GM norm = 6.5/9, average FIDE rating 2441, average USCF rating 2533)

GM Tanguy Ringoir

GM Tanguy Ringoir (Belgium, FIDE 2501, USCF 2591)

·       25 years old

·       Wins over GMs K. Georgiev, S. Ganguly, R. Vaganian, E. Najer, V. Durarbayli

·       4th highest rated player in Belgium, three-time Belgian national champion, highest rated player in Maryland

·       Represented Belgium at the 2012 and 2014 Chess Olympiads

·       Won CCCSA’s Spring 2017 and Spring 2018 GM Invitationals

·       UMBC chess team member, representing UMBC at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship and Final Four of College Chess National Championship

·       Holds the record for the longest undefeated streak in CCCSA Invitationals: 37 games

·       Holds the record for the largest cumulative plus score in CCCSA Invitationals: +14

·       Interview from Spring 2017 CCCSA GM Invitational

·       This is GM Ringoir’s 9th CCCSA GM Invitational

GM Mark Paragua

GM Mark Paragua (Philippines, FIDE 2496, USCF 2608)

·       35 years old

·       Wins over GMs L. Aronian, S. Mamedyarov, Le Quang Liem, D. Navara, G. Kamsky

·       3rd highest rated player in the Philippines, 2012 Filipino national champion

·       Former World Top 100 player (2621 FIDE)

·       Represented the Philippines at the 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2012 Chess Olympiads

·       Played in the 2004, 2005, and 2013 Chess World Cups

·       Held the records for the youngest master, youngest International Master, youngest Grandmaster, and the first 2600 FIDE-rated player from the Philippines

·       This is GM Paragua’s 1st CCCSA GM Invitational

IM Eyal Grinberg

IM Eyal Grinberg (Israel, FIDE 2472, USCF 2500)

·       21 years old

·       Wins over GMs A. Volokitin, M. Parligras, J. Stocek, H. Martirosyan, A. Sumets

·       31st highest rated player in Israel

·       Represented Israel at the World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad and European Youth U18 Team Championship

·       UT Dallas chess team member, representing UTD at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship

·       This is IM Grinberg’s 1st CCCSA GM Invitational

IM Omer Reshef

IM Omer Reshef (Israel, FIDE 2461, USCF 2551)

·       22 years old

·       Wins over GMs B. Bok, T. Gareev, M. Brown, D. Berczes, U. Bajarani

·       33rd highest rated player in Israel

·       Represented Israel at the European Youth U18 Team Championship

·       UT Dallas chess team member, representing UTD at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship and Final Four of College Chess National Championship

·       This is IM Reshef’s 1st CCCSA GM Invitational

GM David Berczes

GM David Berczes (Hungary, FIDE 2452, USCF 2548)

·       29 years old

·       Wins over GMs Le Quang Liem, E. Najer, H. Koneru, R. Robson, B. Macieja

·       41st highest rated player in Hungary

·       Represented Hungary at the 2004 and 2006 World Youth U16 Chess Olympiads

·       Won CCCSA’s Spring 2019 GM Invitational

·       UT Dallas chess team member, representing UTD at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship and Final Four of College Chess National Championship

·       This is GM Berczes’ 3rd CCCSA GM Invitational

IM Brandon Jacobson (New Jersey, FIDE 2452, USCF 2540)

IM Brandon Jacobson

·       15 years old

·       Wins over GMs K. Dragun, G. Kacheishvili, R. Hess, E. Cordova, I. Chirila

·       Highest rated 15-year-old in the US

·       North American Youth U12 Bronze medalist, North American Youth U16 Silver medalist

·       Champion, 2016 Barber National Tournament of K-8 Champions

·       Attends Columbia University

·       Earned 1st IM norm in CCCSA’s Summer 2018 IM Invitational and remaining IM norms in the same month (June 2018)

·       2 GM norms (both in 2019), can earn the GM title at this tournament

·       Tied for first for longest win streak in CCCSA Invitationals: 5

·       This is IM Jacobson’s 9th CCCSA Norm Invitational

IM Kassa Korley (Denmark, FIDE 2447, USCF 2550)

IM Kassa Korley

·       26 years old

·       Wins over GMs J. Timman, A. Dreev, A. Moiseenko, A. Shabalov, V. Mikhalevski

·       12xth highest rated player in Denmark

·       Graduated from Duke University

·       Earned 3 IM norms in 3 weeks in summer 2014

·       Earned 1st GM norm in CCCSA’s Summer 2018 GM Invitational, which he won

·       2 GM norms (2018, 2019), can earn his third GM norm at this tournament

·       Tied for first for most wins against GMs in CCCSA Invitationals: 4

·       Has the most points against GMs in CCCSA Invitationals: 11

·       Has played both of the longest games in CCCSA Invitationals (189 moves & 138 moves)

·       Kassa’s Youtube Channel

·       This is IM Korley’s 10th CCCSA GM Invitational

IM Eylon Nakar

IM Eylon Nakar (Israel, FIDE 2433, USCF 2528)

·       25 years old

·       Wins over GMs J. Xiong, E. Hansen, A. Beliavsky, V. Mikhalevski, A. Liang

·       45th highest rated player in Israel

·       UT Dallas chess team member, representing UTD at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship

·       2 GM norms (2015, 2017), can earn the GM title at this tournament

·       This is IM Nakar’s 1st CCCSA GM Invitational

IM Kevin Wang

IM Kevin Wang (Maryland, FIDE 2416, USCF 2520)

·       22 years old

·       Wins over GMs Praggnanandhaa, M. Panchanathan, L. Bruzon Batista, B. Gulko, S. Azarov

·       76th highest rated player in the US

·       Graduated from the University of Chicago

·       Earned IM norms at 2013, 2014, 2016 World Opens

·       Earned 5th IM norm and necessary 2400 rating to become an IM at CCCSA’s Winter 2018 GM Invitational

·       This is IM Wang’s 6th CCCSA GM Invitational

FM / WGM Jennifer Yu (Virginia, FIDE 2278, USCF 2396)

FM / WGM Jennifer Yu

·       17 years old

·       Wins over GMs B. Macieja, P. Kannappan, I. Krush, A. Kore, C. Hevia

·       10th highest rated 17-year-old in the US, 7th highest rated female in the US

·       2019 U.S. Women’s Champion, 2014 World Youth U12 Girls Champion, 2013 North American Youth U12 Girls Champion, three-time National Girls Tournament of Champions winner

·       Represented USA at the 2017 World Team Championship, 2017 World Girls U20 Championship (bronze medal and 1st IM norm) and the 2018 Chess Olympiad (bronze medal and 3rd IM norm)

·       Earned 2nd IM norm at CCCSA’s Winter 2018 IM Invitational, which she won

·       This is FM Yu’s 3rd CCCSA Norm Invitational

IM Section (IM norm = 6.0/9, average FIDE rating 2336, average USCF rating 2425)

IM Kacper Drozdowski

IM Kacper Drozdowski (Poland, FIDE 2467, USCF 2549)

·       23 years old

·       Wins over GMs V. Fedoseev, D. Anton Guijarro, T. Gareev, B. Bok, Y. Pelletier

·       40th highest rated player in Poland

·       Represented Poland at European Team Championship, European Youth U18 Team Championship

·       UT Dallas chess team member, representing UTD at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship and Final Four of College Chess National Championship

·       2013 European Youth U16 Champion

·       Competed in Polish Chess National Championship

·       1 GM norm (2018)

·       This is IM Drozdowski’s 1st CCCSA IM Invitational

GM Angel Arribas Lopez

GM Angel Arribas Lopez (Spain, FIDE 2436, USCF 2519)

·       25 years old (turns 26 on first day of the tournament)

·       Wins over GMs I. Ipatov, J. Smeets, J. Granda Zuniga, K. Dragun, D. Anton Guijarro

·       61st highest rated player in Spain

·       UT Dallas chess team member, representing UTD at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship and Final Four of College Chess National Championship

·       Won CCCSA’s Winter 2019 IM Invitational

·       2003 Spanish Youth U10 Champion, 2005 Spanish Youth U12 Champion, 2009 Spanish Youth U16 Champion

·       Competed in Spanish Chess National Championship

·       This is GM Arribas Lopez’s 5th CCCSA Norm Invitational

FM Gauri Shankar (India, FIDE 2340, USCF 2457)

FM Gauri Shankar

·       27 years old

·       Wins over GMs A. Lenderman, O. Barbosa, N. Mitkov, M. Brown, D. Gurevich

·       131st highest rated player in India

·       Earned fifth IM norm in CCCSA’s Spring 2017 GM Invitational

·       5 IM norms (2009, 2011, 2015, 2015, 2017)

·       Won CCCSA’s Labor Day 2018 IM Invitational

·       Has played all 11 CCCSA Norm Invitationals

·       Most cumulative points scored in CCCSA invitationals: 49.5

·       Most cumulative draws in CCCSA invitationals: 51

·       This is FM Shankar’s 12th CCCSA Norm Invitational

NM Liran Zhou (New York, FIDE 2314, USCF 2400)

FM Liran Zhou

·       11 years old

·       Wins over GMs J. Kraai, M. Rohde, IM R. Gajek

·       Top 11-year-old in the US, #5 player under 12 in the world

·       Previous holder of the youngest US Chess National Master record (9 years, 3 months, 22 days)

·       2019 World Cadet U12 Champion, 2017 World Cadet U10 Champion, 2017 North American Youth U10 Champion

·       This is NM Zhou’s 1st CCCSA IM Invitational

IM Roberto Martin Del Campo

IM Roberto Martin Del Campo (Mexico, FIDE 2314, USCF 2392)

·       52 years old

·       Wins over GMs J. Becerra, A. Zapata, W. Browne, A. Adly, S. Agdestein

·       Drawn twice with former World Champion Viswanathan Anand at the 1985 and 1987 World Junior U20 Championships

·       12th highest rated player from Mexico

·       Represented Mexico at 3 Chess Olympiads, earning a gold medal in 1990

·       1993 Mexican National Chess Champion

·       Won CCCSA’s Spring 2016 IM Invitational

·       Tied for first for longest win streak in CCCSA Invitationals: 5

·       Most cumulative wins in CCCSA Invitationals: 26

·       This is IM Del Campo’s 11th CCCSA IM Invitational

FM Christopher Shen

FM Christopher Shen (Ohio, FIDE 2306, USCF 2390)

·       15 years old

·       Wins over GMs A. Puranik, I. Ortiz Suarez, IMs B. Jacobson, L. Harmon-Vellotti, T. Stremavicius

·       Highest rated player from Ohio, fourth highest rated 15-year-old in the US

·       Silver medalist at 2019 Pan American Youth U18 Championship, Bronze medalist at 2012 World Youth U8 Championship

·       This is FM Shen’s 2nd CCCSA IM Invitational

FM Jacob Furfine

FM Jacob Furfine (Illinois, FIDE 2302, USCF 2395)

·       18 years old

·       Wins over GMs V. Georgiev, A. Chandra, IMs S. Schmakel, S. Bora, J. Sheng

·       8th highest 18-year-old in the US

·       Will attend MIT

·       This is FM Furfine’s 2nd CCCSA IM Invitational

FM Aaron Jacobson

FM Aaron Jacobson (New Jersey, FIDE 2301, USCF 2398)

·       20 years old

·       Wins over GMs T. Ringoir, G. Kacheishvili, D. Khamrakulov, D. Boros, N. Checa

·       38th highest rated player under 21 in the US

·       Attends Harvard University

·       Earned first IM norm at CCCSA’s Winter 2019 IM Invitational

·       2 IM norms (both in 2019)

·       Highest cumulative FIDE rating gain at CCCSA Norm Invitationals: +116.4 points

·       This is FM Jacobson’s 7th CCCSA IM Invitational

FM Vincent Tsay

FM Vincent Tsay (New York, FIDE 2300, USCF 2383)

·       14 years old

·       Wins over GMs J. Becerra, M. Rohde, U. Bajarani, IMs B. Jacobson, K. Kiewra

·       7th highest 14-year-old in the US

·       2017 World Cadet U12 Champion

·       2018 New York State Scholastic Champion

·       1 IM norm (2019)

·       This is FM Tsay’s 1st CCCSA Norm Invitational

NM Richard Francisco

NM Richard Francisco (Georgia, FIDE 2281, USCF 2365)

·       35 years old

·       Wins over GMs A. Shabalov, E. Cordova, M. Paragua, J. Becerra, R. Hess

·       4th highest rated player from Georgia

·       This is NM Francisco’s 4th CCCSA IM Invitational