Bobby Fischer (1943-2008) became the 11th World Chess Champion on September 1, 1972 when Boris Spassky phoned his resignation of the adjourned 21st and final game of their title match.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Fischer’s triumph, the world-famous Marshall Chess Club hosted a Bobby Fischer World Champion 1972 Commemoration. This event, fittingly, began on September 1 and consisted of two ten-player round robins: GM A and IM B.
GM A players could earn a grandmaster norm by scoring 7 points out of 9 or an international master norm by tallying 5½ points out of 9.
The IM B section required 7 points out of 9 for an IM norm.
I served as Chief Arbiter. The event was organized by IM Aleksandr Ostrovskiy and America’s newest International Organizer, IO Keith Espinosa. Congratulations, Keith!
GM A
Hungarian GM Gergely Kantor (Hungary) finished in clear 1st Place with 7 points. GM Mark Paragua (Philippines) followed with 6 points, while GM Djurabek Khamrakulov (Uzbekistan) and FM Sandeep Sethuraman (USA) tied for 3rd-4th place with 5½ points.
Sethuraman earned his 2nd IM norm in the process, as well as 35 FIDE rating points, taking his live rating to 2371. If he plays in our November event, perhaps he can earn his final norm and cross the 2400 barrier required for the IM title? Anyway, congratulations Sandeep!
IM B
FM Gus Huston (USA) won this section with 6½ points out of 9, just missing out on his 2nd IM norm. The 30 Elo points he gained, however, will take his FIDE rating back over 2300.
GM Michael Rohde (USA) and Zachary Tanenbaum (USA) tied for 2nd-3rd place with 5 points. The latter had an impressive debut at the NYC Invitationals, and will hopefully return.
More Info
You can find more information on the event website. Results, standings, and all 90 games from the event can be found on Chess Results.
Coming Up Next
From November 9-13, the New York Fall Invitationals will take place in Long Island City, NY. There will be five sections this time: GM A, GM B, IM C, IM D, and NM E. The NM section will be a six-player round robin over three days with no norms on offer.