Sunday, October 5, 2014

Japan gets first IM

Congratulations to Japan who will get its first IM , Ryosuke Nanjo. At the Presidential Board Meeting in Sochi in November, his application for the title will be tabled for approval.

Nanjo obtained his norms within the space of a month. At the Tromso Olympiad he was on first board and scored 7/11. He defeated two grandmasters in the final two rounds.

Immediately after the olympiad he flew to Riga to take part in an Open. Here he scored 5.5/9 and it was sufficient for his final norm. He only needed two norms since the olympiad norm is counted as a twenty game norm.

Incidentally, the Japanese took part in the recent Malaysian Open last month. His score of 4/5 was mediocre by comparision.

In the game below, Nanjo outplayed his grandmaster opponent.