Summer CCCSA GM/IM Norm Invitational - Preview

Author: Grant Oen, CCCSA Assistant Director

Charlotte Chess Center's 11th Norm Tournament

This June 5-9, the Charlotte Chess Center will organize our eleventh GM/IM norm invitational.


These seasonal norm tournaments offer special opportunities for players to earn FIDE norms and titles - 23 norms and 12 titles have been earned at these events.  Five players even earned their final GM norms and titles in Charlotte: GMs Andrew Tang, John Michael Burke, Steven Zierk, Nicolas Checa, and Michael Brown.


There are three sections, each a 9 game round robin (all-play-all) held at the Hilton University Charlotte Place.  The official website can be found here, while games and standings can be found here.  The tournament will be held alongside the 2019 Carolinas Classic and held just before CCCSA's Elite Chess Camp featuring GM Jacob Aagaard, GM Boris Avrukh, and GM Mihail Marin.


Norm hunters can earn FIDE norms with a score of at least 6.5 out of 9.  The 30 players include 5 Grandmasters, 9 International Masters, 8 FIDE Masters, and 8 National Masters from 13 federations: Armenia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Denmark, Georgia, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Sweden, Venezuela, and the United States.

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



Players:

GM Section (GM norm = 6.5/9, average rating = 2446 FIDE and 2538 USCF)

GM Karen Grigoryan

GM Karen Grigoryan (Armenia, FIDE 2547, USCF 2712)

• Wins over GMs R. Wojtaszek, M. Ragger, K. Sasikiran, A. Dreev, V. Akopian
• 16th highest rated player in Armenia, 2015 Armenian national champion
• Armenian U14 Champion and European U16 Champion
• Represented Armenia at the European Team Championship, World Junior Championship, and World Youth U16 Olympiad
• Earned his 3 GM norms in Greece, Armenia, and France
• This is GM Grigoryan's 1st CCCSA GM Invitational

GM Steven Zierk (California, USA, FIDE 2501, USCF 2585)

GM Steven Zierk

• Wins over GMs L. Van Wely, V. Durarbayli, N. Grandelius, E. Safarli, J. Xiong
• 43rd highest rated player in the United States
• World Youth Under 18 Champion - earned IM title and first GM norm with a 2739 performance
• Graduate of MIT
• Champion, 2010 Denker National Tournament of High School Champions
• Earned his final GM norm at CCCSA's Summer 2018 GM Invitational, which he won
• Interview from 2016 GM Invitational
• This is GM Zierk's 5th CCCSA GM Invitational

GM Tanguy Ringoir (Belgium, FIDE 2500, USCF 2575)

GM Tanguy Ringoir

• Wins over GMs K. Georgiev, S. Ganguly, R. Vaganian, E. Najer, V. Durarbayli
• 5th highest rated player in Belgium, two time Belgian national champion
• 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
• Earned his 3 GM norms in Belgium, Spain, and the USA
• Holds the record for the longest undefeated streak in CCCSA Invitationals: 37 games
• Has won 2 CCCSA GM Invitationals
• Interview from Spring 2017 GM Invitational
• This is GM Ringoir's 8th CCCSA GM Invitational

IM Brandon Jacobson (New Jersey, FIDE 2486, USCF 2601)

IM Brandon Jacobson

• Wins over GMs K. Dragun, G. Kacheishvili, R. Hess, T. Ringoir, I. Glek
• Highest 15 year old in the US, 8th highest U16 player in the world
• North American Youth U12 Bronze medalist, North American Youth U16 Silver medalist
• Earned three IM norms in June 2018, including one at CCCSA's Summer 2018 IM Invitational
• Champion, 2016 Barber National Tournament of K-8 Champions
• 1 GM Norm
• Tied for the record for longest win streak in CCCSA Invitationals: 5
• This is IM Jacobson's 8th CCCSA Norm Invitational

IM Alex Ostrovskiy

IM Aleksandr Ostrovskiy (New York, FIDE 2437, USCF 2545)

• Wins over GMs P. Harikrishna, V. Milov, J. Xiong, Y. Quesada Perez, A. Lenderman
• 59th highest rated player in the United States
• Tied for 4th place at the 2018 Charlotte Open
• 1 GM norm
• This is IM Ostrovskiy's 5th CCCSA GM Invitational

IM Kassa Korley (Denmark, FIDE 2430, USCF 2520)

IM Kassa Korley

• Wins over GMs V. Mikhalevski, J. Timman, A. Shabalov, S. Ganguly, A. Dreev
• 14th highest rated player in Belgium
• Earned three IM norms in 3 weeks in summer 2014
• Earned first GM norm at CCCSA's Summer 2018 GM Invitational, which he also won
• Tied for the record for the most wins against GMs in CCCSA Invitationals: 4
• Holds the record for the most points scored against GMs in CCCSA Invitationals: 10.5
• Interview from Winter 2018 GM Invitational
• This is IM Korley's 9th CCCSA GM Invitational

IM Christopher Yoo

IM Christopher Yoo (California, FIDE 2430, USCF 2485)

• Wins over GMs Le Quang Liem, P. Prohaska, P. Kannappan, O. Barbosa, C. Holt
• Highest rated 12-year-old in the United States
• Former record holder of youngest National Master in US history
• Youngest International Master in US history
• Can still break the world record for youngest GM in history
• Won the Spring 2018 CCCSA IM Invitational
• Has second highest largest FIDE rating gain in one CCCSA Norm event: +68 points
• This is IM Yoo's 4th CCCSA Norm Invitational

IM Andrew Hong

IM Andrew Hong (California, FIDE 2414, USCF 2502)

• Wins over GMs G. Sargissian, A. Stukopin, H. Gabuzyan, A. Tang, N. Mitkov
• 2nd highest rated 14-year-old in the United States
• 2016 World Cadet U12 Silver medalist (ahead of R. Praggnanandhaa, N. Sarin, V. Keymer)
• Represented team USA at the Match of the Millenials
• This is IM Hong's 3rd CCCSA Norm Invitational

FM Gauri Shankar (India, FIDE 2378, USCF 2455)

FM Gauri Shankar

• Wins over GMs A. Lenderman, O. Barbosa, D. Gurevich, M. Brown, N. Mitkov
• 108th highest rated player in India
• Five IM norms, all earned in Illinois and North Carolina
• Earned his fifth IM norm at the Spring 2017 CCCSA GM Invitational
• Tied for first at the Labor Day 2018 IM Invitational
• Can earn the IM title with a score of at least 5.0/9
• Interview from the 2016 GM Invitational
• Holds the record for the largest cumulative (lifetime) FIDE rating gain at CCCSA Norm Invitationals: 94.8 points
• Holds the record for the most cumulative points scored at CCCSA Norm Invitationals: 47.5
• Holds the record for the most cumulative draws scored at CCCSA Norm Invitationals: 47
• Can earn his sixth IM norm with 4.5/9 and the IM title with 5.0/9
• This is FM Shankar's 11th CCCSA Norm Invitational

NM Tianqi Wang

NM Tianqi Wang (North Carolina, FIDE 2333, USCF 2416)

• Wins over GMs V. Durarbayli, A. Shabalov, J. Benjamin, V. Kotronias, A. Ramirez
• 140th highest rated player in USA, 7th highest rated player in NC
• 2019 CCCSA Club Champion
• Three IM norms, earned 2 at CCCSA Norm Invitationals
• Can earn his fourth IM norm with 4.5/9
• This is NM Wang's 8th CCCSA Norm Invitational

IM Section B (IM norm = 6.5/9, average rating = 2303 FIDE and 2381 USCF)

IM Martin Lokander

IM Martin Lokander (Sweden, FIDE 2429, USCF 2450)

• Wins over GMs V. Mikhalevski, T. Hillarp Persson, F. Urkedal, E. Blomqvist, V. Kunin
• 22nd highest rated player in Sweden
• Chess author, "The Open Games with Black"
• This is IM Lokander's first CCCSA IM Invitational

GM Alonso Zapata (Colombia, FIDE 2427, USCF 2533)

GM Alonso Zapata

• Wins over World Champions V. Anand, V. Smyslov, GMs H. Nakamura, L. Van Wely, L. Ljubojevic
• 10th highest rated player in Colombia
• Eight-time Colombian National Champion
• Represented Colombia at twelve Chess Olympiads
• Silver medalist, 1977 World Junior Championship, behind GM Artur Yusupov
• Peak World Ranking: #48
• 2013 and 2015 Georgia State Champion
• Interview from Spring 2017 GM Invitational
• This is GM Zapata's 5th CCCSA Norm Invitational

IM Felix Ynojosa Aponte (Venezuela, FIDE 2386, USCF 2486)

IM Felix Ynojosa Aponte

• Wins over GMs D. Naroditsky, G. Kaidanov, K. Dragun, J. Smeets, J. Cori
• 6th highest rated player in Venezuela
• UT-RGV chess team member, representing UT-RGV at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship
• Four-time Venezuelan National Champion
• Represented Venezuela at the 2012, 2014, and 2018 Chess Olympiads
• First place at the Spring 2017 IM Invitational
• 2 GM norms
• This is IM Ynojosa's 3rd CCCSA IM Invitational

FM Seth Homa

FM Seth Homa (Michigan, FIDE 2300, USCF 2373)

• Wins over GMs V. Mikhalevski, S. Zierk, S. Matsenko, M. Flores, M. Amanov
• 7th highest rated player in Michigan
• Two time Michigan Open Champion
• 3 IM norms
• Interview from the 2016 IM Invitational
• This is FM Homa's 3rd CCCSA IM Invitational

FM Sahil Sinha

FM Sahil Sinha (Virginia, FIDE 2283, USCF 2382)

• Wins over IMs P. Balakrishnan, A. Young, T. Enkhbat, K. Kavutskiy, E. Tate
• 11th highest 18-year-old in the United States
• 2018 12th Grade National Co-Champion
• Represented Virginia at Denker Tournament of High School Champions
• This is FM Sinha's 4th CCCSA IM Invitational

NM Alex Kolay

NM Alex Kolay (California, FIDE 2274, USCF 2316)

• Wins over GM A. Stukopin, IMs D. Aldama, J. Sarkar, T. Coleman, J. Guerrero Sierra
• 3rd highest rated 13 year old in the US
• Represented team USA and 2017 World Cadet Chess Championship
• This is NM Kolay's 2nd CCCSA IM Invitational

FM Nikhil Kumar

FM Nikhil Kumar (Florida, FIDE 2257, USCF 2374)

• Wins over GMs R. Praggnanandhaa, I. Glek, D. Berczes, M. Paragua, A. Arribas
• 6th highest rated 14-year-old in the United States
• 2016 World Cadet U12 Champion (ahead of R. Praggnanandhaa, N. Sarin, V. Keymer, A. Hong)
• 1 IM norm
• This is FM Kumar's 3rd CCCSA Norm Invitational

NM Abhimanyu Mishra

NM Abhimanyu Mishra (New Jersey, FIDE 2227, USCF 2317)

• Wins over GM J. Tarjan, IMs F. Ynojosa, L. Piasetski, E. Lund
• Highest rated 10-year-old in the United States
• Currently the youngest National Master in US history
• This is NM Mishra's 2nd CCCSA IM Invitational

NM Richard Francisco

NM Richard Francisco (Georgia, FIDE 2226, USCF 2363)

• Wins over GMs A. Shabalov, E. Cordova, M. Paragua, J. Becerra, R. Hess
• 6th highest rated player in Georgia
• Two time Georgia State Champion
• This is NM Francisco's 3rd CCCSA IM Invitational

NM Zachary Dukic

NM Zachary Dukic (Canada, FIDE 2224, USCF 2216)

• Wins over GMs B. Avrukh, K. Yang, IMs A. Hong, R. Chen, R. Kaufman
• 51st highest rated player in Canada
• Participated in Canadian Zonal Championship 2019
• This is NM Dukic's 1st CCCSA IM Invitational

IM Section C (IM norm = 6.5/9, average rating = 2310 FIDE and 2389 USCF)

GM Carlos Hevia Alejano

GM Carlos Hevia Alejano (Cuba, FIDE 2481, USCF 2564)

• Wins over GMs P. Negi, B. Macieja, Ni Hua, L. Bruzon, A. Ramirez
• 16th highest rated player in Cuba
• Member, Univ. Texas at Rio Grande Valley Chess Team
• This is GM Hevia's 1st CCCSA IM Invitational

IM Levan Bregadze

IM Levan Bregadze (Republic of Georgia, FIDE 2462, USCF 2573)

• Wins over GMs S. Atalik, M. Paragua, J. Sadorra, Y. Shulman, T. Gelashvili
• 17th highest rated player in Republic of Georgia, 3rd highest rated player in North Carolina
• Graduate, UMBC Chess Team
• This is IM Bregadze's 1st CCCSA IM Invitational

NM John Ludwig

NM John Ludwig (Florida, FIDE 2374, USCF 2446)

• Wins over GMs J. Becerra, E. Sevillano, N. Checa, J. Burke, N. Mitkov, 
• 2 IM norms, can become an IM with 6.5/9
• Earned his first IM norm at Spring 2017 IM Invitational, which he won
• Interview from Spring 2017 IM Invitational
• This is NM Ludwig's 5th CCCSA Norm Invitational

IM Roberto Martin Del Campo

IM Roberto Martin Del Campo (Mexico, FIDE 2311, USCF 2408)

• Wins over GMs A. Adly, S. Agdestein, J. Becerra, W. Browne, A. Ramirez
• Two draws with former World Champion V. Anand at different World Junior Championships
• Represented Mexico at three Chess Olympiads
• 1993 Mexican National Champion
• Individual Gold medal at 1990 Olympiad, Board 4
• Interview from 2016 IM Invitational
• Tied for the record for longest win streak in CCCSA Invitationals: 5
• Holds the record for the most cumulative (lifetime) wins in CCCSA Invitationals: 25
• This is IM Del Campo's 10th CCCSA IM Invitational

FMs Aaron Jacobson and PG

FM Aaron Jacobson (New Jersey, FIDE 2302, USCF 2391)

• Wins over GMs T. Ringoir, G. Kacheishvili, D. Khamrakulov, E. Iturrizaga, M. Rohde
• 50th highest rated player under 21 in the US
• 1 IM norm
• Earned his first IM norm at Winter 2019 IM Invitational
• Second highest cumulative (lifetime) FIDE rating gain at CCCSA Norm Invitationals: 94.6 points
• This is FM Jacobson's 5th CCCSA IM Invitational

NM Aydin Turgut

NM Aydin Turgut (Indiana, FIDE 2286, USCF 2333)

• Wins over IMs. L. Harmon-Vellotti, A. Young, S. Ghatti, and GM Javokhir Sindarov, the second youngest GM in history
• 7th highest 14-year-old in the US
• 2019 Junior High School (K-9) Co-Champion
• 2019 Junior High School (K-9) Blitz Champion
• Represented the USA at World Cadet and World Youth Championships
• His father, Tansel Turgut, is a FIDE master and International Correspondence Grandmaster
• This is NM Turgut's 1st CCCSA IM Invitational

FM Jason Wang

FM Jason Wang (Ohio, FIDE 2285, USCF 2346)

• Wins over IMs H. Niemann, R. Burnett, C. Yoo
• 2nd highest twelve-year-old in the US
• Represented USA at the World Cadet Championship
• This is FM Wang's 1st CCCSA IM Invitational

FM Robby Adamson

FM Robby Adamson (Arizona, FIDE 2238, USCF 2329)

• Wins over GMs V. Akobian, D. Naroditsky, R. Dzindzichashvili, A. Yermolinsky, M. Paragua
• 9th highest rated player in Arizona
• Three IM norms
• Co-Champion, 1988 Denker National Tournament of High School Champions
• Member of US Chess Scholastic Council
• This is FM Adamson's 4th CCCSA IM Invitational

NM Aaron Balleisen

NM Aaron Balleisen (North Carolina, FIDE 2203, USCF 2328)

• Wins over GM M. Paragua, IMs A. Young, P. Balakrishnan, K. Wang, M. Kleinman
• 12th highest rated player in North Carolina
• Princeton University chess team member, representing Princeton at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Championhsip
• This is NM Balleisen's 2nd CCCSA IM Invitational

FM Malaku Lorne

FM Malaku Lorne (Jamaica, FIDE 2159, USCF 2172)

• 6th highest rated player in Jamaica
• Tied for 2nd at the 2016 American Sub-Zonal in Barbados
• Represented Jamaica at 2004, 2014, and 2018 World Chess Olympiads
• This is FM Lorne's 2nd CCCSA IM Invitational