2022 New York Fall Invitationals

The 2022 New York Fall Invitationals were held at the Aloft Long Island City — Manhattan View hotel from November 9-13, organized by IO Keith Espinosa and IM Aleksandr Ostrovskiy.

Aloft Long Island City
The playing venue, Aloft Long Island City—Manhattan View. Photo: TripAdvisor

There were five sections in this edition: GM A, GM B, IM C, IM D and NM E. GM and IM norms were available in the A and B sections, while only IM norms were on offer in C and D. The E group was a six-player round robin for experts and masters.

Overall, the five sections had players from no less than 20 different nations competing!

National Arbiter Karl Heck came up all the way from Virginia to offer invaluable assistance to me in this event, and he earned a well-deserved 2nd FIDE Arbiter norm. I soon expect him to complete a similar journey to my own.

 

Results

GM A

Top-seed GM Robby Kevlishvili (NED) finished in a first-place tie with IM Kassa Korley (DEN) and GM Titas Stremavicius (LTU) on 5½ points out of 9. Players needed 6½ points to score a GM norm.

The only non-GM/IM in the section, FM Nico Chasin (USA), earned his 4th IM norm with 5 points out of 9. As he has already cleared the FIDE 2400 barrier (indeed, his live rating is 2441) he should officially become an International Master soon.

 

GM B

GMs Mark Paragua (PHI) and Djurabek Khamrakulov (UZB) shared first place with 6 points out of 9. 7 points were required for a GM norm.

FM Tanitoluwa Adewumi (USA) earned his 3rd IM norm with 5½ points. He needs to cross 2400, and may need a norm from a Swiss tournament considering the new FIDE rule 1.5.6, but this is unclear to me.

 

IM C

In a tightly-bunched group, FM Nasyr Akylbekov (KGZ) finished in a first-place tie with IM Nikolay Andrianov (RUS) and GM David Berczes (HUN). Each scored 5½ points out of 9.

No norms were earned in this section; 7 points were needed for an IM norm, while FM/WIM Gabriela Antova (BUL) could have earned a WGM norm with 6½ points.

 

IM D

IM Kyron Griffith (USA) emerged victorious in this group, tallying 7 points out of 9. IM Mykola Bortnyk (UKR) finished in 2nd place with 6½ points.

The IM norm was 7 points, and none of the seekers got within shouting distance. I will note that Zachary Tanenbaum had his second consecutive strong showing at our tournament, scoring 5 points while being one of the lowest-rated players.

 

NM E

Ankit Raparthi (USA) won clear first place and $800 with 4 points out of 5. Eugene Yoo (USA) finished second with 3½ points, earning $400.

Alex has considered running more sections of this type in the future; any experts or masters out there interested should contact him: nycchessnorms@gmail.com.

 

More Info

You can find more information on the event website. Results, standings, and downloadable games can be found on Chess Results.

 

Coming Up Next

From January 12-16, we will hold the 2023 New York Winter Invitationals in midtown Manhattan. There will be four groups: GM A, GM B, IM C, and IM D.

I will be assisted by a rising star in the TD/arbiter ranks, NA Sunny Yang. I can accept more assistants and offer norms (NAs are unpaid, FAs/IAs may be paid); just contact me.

Bobby Fischer World Champion 1972 Commemoration

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.

GM A round 7
FM Chen — GM Kantor and IM Korley — Zeltsan in Round 7 of the GM A event.

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.

Round 1 of the Bobby Fischer Commemoration
Round 1 of the tournament on the 50th anniversary of Bobby Fischer becoming World Champion!

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.

2022 New York Summer Invitationals: Results

Hilton Garden Inn Midtown Park Avenue
The playing venue, in a great location! Photo: TripAdvisor

The 2022 New York Summer Invitationals concluded on July 11, once again organized by the dynamic duo of Keith Espinosa and IM Aleksandr Ostrovskiy.

The event featured four sections: GM A, GM B, IM C, and IM D. GM and IM norms were available in the A and B sections, while only IM norms were on offer in C and D.

Overall, two IM norms were achieved.

Let’s see the results, shall we?

 

GM A: Grandmaster Class

Polish GM Kamil Dragun finished in clear 1st Place in this section with 6.5 points. GM Djurabek Khamrakulov (Uzbekistan) followed with 6 points, and GM Ante Saric (Croatia) tallied 5½. This trio dominated the event.

No norms were earned this time; 5 points would have scored an IM norm for FMs Liran Zhou and Maximilian Lu, though the latter will presumably have his IM title approved at the next FIDE Congress in August.

A GM norm required 6½ points, but no one ever looked very likely to earn one during the course of the event.

 

GM B: Don’t Lose

Joseph Zeltsan (USA) won this section with 5½ points out of 9, winning two games and drawing the rest. In addition, he earned his second IM norm. Congratulations!

IM Bryce Tiglon (USA)GM Leonid Yudasin (Israel), and FM Aaron Jacobson (USA) tied for 2nd place with 5 points. Jacobson could have earned his final IM norm with a win over tail-ender Qibiao Wang (China) in the final round, but only managed to draw.

The GM norm in this section was a full 7 points out of 9. Maybe next time?

 

IM C: Just Win

FM Tanitoluwa Adewumi (USA) scored 7 points out of 9, winning the section and scoring his second IM norm. He’s now 2-for-2 in the New York Invitational series. Congratulations!

FM Akira Nakada (USA) once again came just a half-point short, finishing 2nd with 6½. Rating favorite IM Mykola Bortnyk (Ukraine) came in 3rd place with 6 points.

 

IM D: Fight Club

GM Michael Rohde (USA) emerged victorious, tallying 7 points out of 9. The veteran GM showed great form throughout, and was motivated to post the highest score among the four groups, which he did (along with Tani)!

IM Arjun Vishnuvardhan (India) followed Rohde with 6½ points, and IM Nikolai Andrianov (Russia) scored 6. Because the IM norm was 7 points, the norm seekers went after the top three, but their attempts backfired.

While no norms were earned, this section was a bloodbath; it was common for Group D to go well after the other sections were done or nearly so! Only 17 of 45 games ended in draws.

 

More Info

You can find more information on the event website. Results, standings, and downloadable games can be found on Chess Results.

 

Coming Up Next

From September 1-5, the Marshall Chess Club will host the next edition of the series, the Bobby Fischer World Chess Champion 1972 Commemoration, in two sections — GM A and IM B.

Bobby Fischer became World Chess Champion on September 1, 1972; 50 years ago. I was born 11 years later on the same date.