[imagefield_assist|fid=16257|preset=fullsize|title=NM Tommy Ulrich has had a fantastic performance thus far and still has chances to earn an IM norm.|desc=|link=none|origsize=|align=left|width=700|height=530]
After six rounds at the CCSCSL Invitational, IM Vitaly Neimer continues his impressive play going undefeated thus far with a score of 4.5/6. Neimer can earn his second GM norm by scoring two points over the next three rounds (2/3).
The road to earning the norm will not be easy, however, as each of his final three opponents: IM Steven Zierk, IM Marc Esserman, and IM Justin Sarkar, are all sitting at 3.5/6, which means they each need to score three straight wins in the final rounds to earn a norm.
In the IM section, the surprising dark horse norm candidate is Tommy Ulrich, who entered the tournament as the lowest-rated player in the field. Ulrich kept his norm hopes alive with a draw in round 6 against FM Seth Homa. Homa, the early tournament leader, has been eliminated from norm contention. Ulrich also will need three wins in the final three rounds to earn the norm.
Full recap of round 6 including games will becoming soon. Stay tuned!
2012 CCSSL Invitational: Round 5 Recap
IM Mac Molner went all out today in a desperate bid to defeat his Grandmaster opponent. GM Ben Finegold surprised Molner with the Russian Defense, an opening that Finegold has rarely used. The Russian Defense is known to be a drawing weapon, the bain of 1. e4 players. Molner, desperately in need of a win, used a swashbuckling gambit that was popular in the 1800's, the Cochrane Gambit. Unfortunately for Molner, Finegold defended well, and the two shook hands on move 19.
This was a key game for both player's chances at earning a norm. Kannappan caused Sarkar to slip up in the opening by utilizing a rare sideline, 4.c3 in the Moscow Variation. Sarkar, unaware of the subtleties, had to figure things out over the board. He slipped up with 9..Rb8 and 12...b4, thus presenting Kannappan with a massive advantage right out of the opening. Kannappan prosecuted his opening advantage, and came away with the full point.
GM Boros demonstrated why he is a Grandmaster in this game with IM Zierk. GM Boros clearly out-prepared his opponent, as by move 15 IM Ziek found himself in a thankless position with white in possession of a massive kingside attack. In fact the position was so difficult for black that Zierk blundered with 16..Nf5??.
GM Diamant versus IM Esserman turned out to be one of the more interesting contests of the round. The players created a real mess of the board with hanging pieces abound. Unfortunately for Esserman, he missed the winning continuation, 18...cxd5!!, and had to settle for a repetition of moves.
This was the last game of the round to conclude, and well worth the wait. In the last few minutes of the game with both sides in severe time trouble, IM Yang missed the winning continuation! He allowed IM Neimer to execute a cute stalemate trick to force a draw, 69..Qc5+!!!Many dreams of IM norm possibilities were crushed this round. Only Tommy Ulrich, FM Konstantin Kavutskiy, and FM Seth Homa are still in contention for an IM Norm. The pre-tournament favorite for an IM Norm, FM Thomas Bartell, lost his chance today when the dark horse of the event, Tommy Ulrich, defeated him in a tense game.
FM Bartell's loss to Ulrich in this game left Bartell crestfallen, as he is no longer capable of earning the necessary points for an IM norm.
Homa's loss in this game is surely a result of an unnecessary king march to the wrong side of the board! After 36. Kc1?? white is dead lost.
Bregadze wins in a masterly style by with his superior positional play.
After blundering in time trouble with 46. Nxd6??, Agrest managed to save the game with a beautiful swindle! However, the swindle did not actually work, even several GM's watching the game did not find the move 62..Qa3!! The move stops the threatened perpetual check and setups up mate in one with Qag3#.
Kavutskiy managed to hold off IM Brooks in his favorite pet line of the Exchange Ruy Lopez. This is a good result for Kavutskiy because it keeps his hopes for a norm alive.
2012 CCSCSL Invitational: Round 4 Recap
After four exciting rounds, three IMs are leading the field: IM Neimer with 3.5 points, IM Zierk with 3 points, and IM Sarkar with 2.5 points. Two Grandmasters, Finegold and Diamant, have found themselves at the bottom of the standings, which is rather unusual considering their strength.
Certainly this will be one of the more unusual games of the event. GM Finegold has utilized this opening before in a game with IM Angelo Young, a game inwhich he won very quickly. GM Finegold claimed that he actually hallucinated, and saw a different position in his mind than the one that occurred on the board at move 10. Since there is really no play left for either side, a draw was agreed.
IM Neimer is on a roll in this event! This draw versus one of his rather more dangerous opposition can only help his chances of achieving the GM Norm. In this game he stumped GM Diamant with a novelty, 9. a4. However, GM Diamant eventually equalized, and a draw was agreed.
Esserman versus Boros was turning in to an interesting struggle, until Esserman blundered with 26.Rae1??.
IM Zierk and IM Kannappan drew in a highly theoretical position, which keeps both their hopes of earning the norm alive.
Often the most aggressive openings lead to early simplification; IM Sarkar and IM Molner illustrated just that with their round 4 draw.
Round 4 of the IM group saw IM Brooks jump to second place, and FM Kavutskiy and FM Eckert keep their norm hopes alive with nice victories over WIM Agrest and IM Angelo Young. Unfortunately, both WGM Sharevich and WIM Agrest are out the running for norms.
FM Thomas Bartell achieved a slight edge out of the opening, and seemed to be doing well into middlegame, however IM Brooks landed a terrific shot with 28..Nf3+!!. The shot immediately wins, and was so good that Bartell did not even realize he was lost until Brooks played 29. Qg3!.
Agrest blundered right before time control with 39..Rf6, which allowed Kavutskiy to obtain a winning ending with 40. Rxf6 Kxf6 41. Bg4! Rd8 42. bxa5 bxa5 43. Rb5.
This is Eckert's first win of the tournament, and what a way to get on the scoreboard! IM Young had sunk deep into time trouble and was worse, so he tried to mix things up against his lower rated opponent with a sacrifice, 30. Bxd5?. Eckert saw found the best move right away, and counter sacrificed with 30..Ncxe5!!. The complications were immense, but Eckert never faltered.
Bregadze's games are magical; he plays inoffensively in the opening, then somehow quickly achieves a winning position. In his game with FM Seth Homa, he follows said formula to the T. Bregadze utilizes a very offbeat line against the Sicilian, which gets his opponent out of his preparation. Homa, relying on his resources, commits several inaccuracies between moves 13 and 16, thus leaving him with a losing position by move 17. IM Bregadze masterfully took home the full point.
Ulrich scored a nice victory with a fantastic exchange sacrifice that left his opponent befuddled.
