Charlotte GM Hunting: Korley Earns Norm #1, Zierk Earns Title

The first Charlotte Chess Festival (June 6 – 16, 2018) is in Charlotte, North Carolina, which was recently awarded “Chess City of the Year” by US Chess. The festival features hundreds of chess players and dozens of titled players, and involves three premier events:

• Charlotte Chess Center’s Summer 2018 GM/IM Norm Round Robin Invitational
• The third Carolinas Classic, a 244-player open weekend tournament
• Charlotte Chess Center Elite Camp, featuring GMs Jacob Aagaard and Boris Avrukh

Summer GM/IM Norm Invitational Although the summer 2018 GM/IM Norm Invitational was the sixth one organized by the Charlotte Chess Center, it broke many of our records in terms of players, international representation, and norms achieved. Forty players were divided into four round-robins, with two GM norm sections and two IM norm sections. The invitational featured a very diverse and strong field, with 20 federations amongst the 40 participants, including Grandmasters, International Masters, and FIDE Masters from Belarus, Belgium, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Georgia, Hungary, India, Mexico, Moldova, Philippines, Serbia, Ukraine, United States, and Zimbabwe.  There were 7 GMs, 16 IMs, 13 FMs, and 4 NMs, all with US Chess ratings over 2300. Title norms were achieved in all four groups! In Group GM A, Californian IM Steven Zierk scored an undefeated 6.5/9, earning clear first place half a point above second place, Hungarian GM Gergely Antal.  More importantly, Steven scored his final GM norm, thus fulfilling his final requirement for the Grandmaster title.  His title should be approved at the next FIDE Presidential Board Meeting in July. Zierk, who is coached by GM Melik Khachiyan, has played four GM norm events in Charlotte, and he continues the trend of GM John Michael Burke, GM Andrew Tang, and IM Kevin Wang, who all recently achieved their final title requirements in recent Charlotte norm events.  Khachiyan told US Chess:

Zierk deserves it. He's been on a quest for the GM title for almost eight years. He is the first American kid who I helped from expert level to the GM title. He is has very bright future, and hopefully one day he will compete at US Championship!

Congratulations to GM-elect Steven Zierk!

 Group GM B was also quite promising norms-wise.  IM Michael Brown, IM Denys Shmelov, IM Kassa Korley, and NM Mika Brattain were all in norm contention on the last day.  Michael Brown, who was seeking his final GM norm, finished in clear second with 6/9.

But it was New York’s IM Kassa Korley, representing Denmark, who scored the required 6.5/9 to earn his first GM norm.  Kassa played very fighting chess, dealing Belgian GM Tanguy Ringoir his first ever defeat in Charlotte (this was GM Ringoir’s fifth event!).  Despite losing in round 3 to IM Farai Mandizha, Kassa managed to pull off the norm with a huge finish in the last rounds (3.5/4). Korley wrote, "Just got my first grandmaster norm! Feel like Will Smith at the end of Pursuit of Happiness." Here is Kassa’s favorite game from the event, his round 6 victory over IM Advait Patel, a very strong effort in the Maroczy Bind:

[pgn] [Event "Summer 2018 CCCSA GM/IM Norm Invitationa"] [Site "Charlotte"] [Date "2018.06.09"] [White "IM Kassa Korley"] [Black "IM Advait Patel"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2420"] [BlackElo "2474"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 c5 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Nc6 7. Be3 O-O 8. Be2 d6 9. O-O Bd7 10. Qd2 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Bc6 12. f3 a5 13. b3 Nd7 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Kh1 Nc5 16. Rab1 Qb6 17. Rfd1 Kg8 18. a3 a4 19. b4 Nb3 20. Qe1 Qc7 21. Rd3 e5 22. Rbd1 Nd4 23. Bf1 f5 24. exf5 Nxf5 25. b5 Bd7 26. Ne4 Nd4 27. Qb4 Bf5 28. b6 Qd8 29. Rxd4 exd4 30. Nxd6 Qf6 31. c5 Bd7 32. Bc4+ Kh8 33. Bd5 Bc6 34. Bxc6 bxc6 35. b7 Rab8 36. Qxa4 Rfd8 37. Qxc6 d3 38. Qd5 Rd7 39. Qb3 d2 40. Qe3 Rc7 41. Qxd2 Qe5 42. c6 Kg8 43. Qa2+ Kg7 44. Qc4 Rd8 45. Qb4 Rb8 46. Qb6 1-0[/pgn]

Two players in Group IM C earned their first IM norms: FM Yoon-Young Kim (Connecticut) and FM Brandon Jacobson (New Jersey).  It was a very competitive section, the only group where no one finished undefeated.  Although only needing a draw in the last round, Kim won his game against FM Alex Velikanov to earn a 2508 performance – Kim had six victories in addition to his loss to top seed IM Zurab Javakhadze in round 3.

Brandon Jacobson also played excellent chess, rising to the occasion after needing to score 3-0 in the final rounds for the IM norm. 14-year old Carissa Yip was the story of the IM group D – after reeling off four victories in the preliminary rounds, she cruised to her “triple norm” with 3.0/5.  Carissa achieved many titles for her 7/9 score, including her first IM norm, first WGM norm, final WIM norm, and the US Chess Senior Master (2400) title. Carissa’s showed great defensive and calculation skills in her round two battle against FM Balaji Daggupati, which featured a Caro-Kann Defense with opposite side castling.

[pgn] [Event "Summer 2018 CCCSA GM/IM Norm Invitational"] [Site "Charlotte"] [Date "2018.06.07"] [White "FM Balaji Daggupati"] [Black "FM Carissa Yip"] [WhiteElo "2268"] [BlackElo "2318"] [Result "0-1"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bf4 Qa5+ 12. Bd2 Bb4 13. c3 Be7 14. c4 Qc7 15. O-O-O Ngf6 16. Ne4 O-O 17. Kb1 Rfd8 18. Bc1 b5 19. Nxf6+ Nxf6 20. Ne5 c5 21. Qg3 Ne4 22. Qg4 f5 23. Qg6 Bf6 24. Bxh6 cxd4 25. Bf4 Bxe5 26. Qxe6+ Qf7 27. Qxe5 Nxf2 28. h6 Qf6 29. hxg7 Qxe5 30. Bxe5 Nxd1 31. Rxd1 bxc4 32. Bxd4 Rac8 33. Kc2 Rc6 34. Bc3 Rxd1 35. Kxd1 Rg6 36. Ke2 Rxg2+ 37. Kf3 Rg4 38. Bf6 a6 39. a3 Rg6 40. Be5 Rxg7 41. Kf4 Rf7 42. Bd6 Kh7 43. Kg5 Kg7 44. a4 Kg8 45. Kf4 Kh7 46. Kg5 Kg7 47. a5 Kh7 48. Be5 Kg8 49. Kf4 Kf8 50. Bd4 Ke8 51. Ke5 f4 52. Bf2 f3 53. Kd4 Re7 54. Kxc4 Re2 0-1[/pgn]

Congratulations to all five players who earned norms! 3rd Carolinas Classic The 2018 Carolinas Classic, organized by Dr. Walter High and the Charlotte Chess Center’s Peter Giannatos, attracted 244 players.  Although GM Elshan Moradiabadi was not available to defend his title from the previous two years, the $10,000 guaranteed prize fund ensured that there would be a strong field, and the Championship section featured two GMs, an IM, a Senior Master, and dozens of National Masters from many states. GM Julio Sadorra (2660), pictured below, swept the section with a perfect 5-0, defeating GM Alexander Shabalov (2662) and local Senior Master Daniel Cremisi (2406) in the final rounds to earn the $1200 prize.

Here is Julio’s round four game with GM Shabalov:

[pgn] [Event "2018 Carolinas Classic"] [Site "Charlotte"] [Date "2018.06.09"] [White "GM Alexander Shabalov"] [Black "GM Julio Sadorra"] [WhiteElo "2655"] [BlackElo "2678"] [Result "0-1"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. a3 Nh6 7. b4 cxd4 8. cxd4 Nf5 9. Be3 Nxe3 10. fxe3 f6 11. exf6 gxf6 12. Bd3 Bh6 13. O-O Bxe3 14. Kh1 Bxd4 15. Ra2 Kd8 16. Qe1 Ne5 17. Nxd4 Qxd4 18. Bb5 Bd7 19. Rd2 Qa1 20. Rxf6 Bxb5 21. Rxe6 Nd3 22. Qh4 Kd7 23. Qe7 Kc8 24. Rc2 Bc4 25. Re1 Rd8 26. Rf1 Qe5 27. Qf7 a6 28. Nc3 Kb8 29. Re2 Nf2 30. Qxf2 Qxc3 31. Qc5 Rc8 0-1[/pgn]

Other section winners include:

• Under 2000 – Mohak Agarwalla (Alabama)
• Under 1800 – Andrew Chen (North Carolina)
• Under 1600 – Aditya Dias (North Carolina)
• Under 1400 – Joshua Soutiere (North Carolina)

Charlotte Chess Center Elite Camp After both of the weekend’s tournaments, the Charlotte Chess Center hosted an elite chess camp for the top juniors in the country.  It was taught by two of the most renowned trainers and authors in the world: GM Jacob Aagaard and GM Boris Avrukh.

 Lectures from the camp include Grandmaster opening preparation and “the four types of decisions.” The camp includes 24 of America’s next champions, including:

• FM Andrew Hong, the #4 player under 14 in the world
• FM Christopher Yoo, the #1 player under 12 in the world
• Winston Ni, K-8 National Champion
• Nate Shuman, K-6 National Co-Champion

Test yourself with two positions from GM Aagaard’s exercises:

1. (MEDIUM) – Black to move and win

Show Solution

2. (HARD) – Black to move and draw

Show Solution

Overall, the Charlotte Chess Festival was a great success, awarding norms to five people.  Special thanks to the event staff who made it possible, including Peter Giannatos, Walter and Karen High, Thad Rogers, Rudy Abate, Anna Wyzywany, Alex Velasquez, and Grant Oen.  Pictures from the various events can be found on the Charlotte Chess Center’s facebook page. The Charlotte Chess Center’s upcoming schedule includes the U.S. G/10, G/30, and G/60 National Championships, July 20-22, and two more GM/IM norm invitationals during Labor Day and Thanksgiving Weekends.  We hope that chess enthusiasts of all levels will join us soon for chess in Charlotte, the Chess City of the Year! Grant Oen is the Assistant Director at the Charlotte Chess Center and the FIDE Events Manager at US Chess.