Canada’s newest International Master

With a live ELO of 2464 and four (4) IM norms scored over a period of 4 months, I am unofficially Canada’s newest International Master! My norms were scored in the World Junior (1), SPICE Cup (2), Mexico UNAM Open (3), and Panama Chess Open (4).

The last 4 months of chess for me have been incredible. I’ve gained 220 FIDE, scored 4 IM norms & 1 GM norm, and won every Canadian Swiss tournament that I’ve played. This includes the Toronto Labour Day Open, the Montreal Open, the Ottawa Autumn Open, the Quebec Elite Championship & the Ottawa Winter Open. Internationally, I placed 3rd in the Mexico UNAM Open & 8th in the Panama Chess Open.

My results have been great, and my play has clearly improved. During this period I worked much harder at chess, and my mind was focused because I decided to take the year off school. The biggest thing that changed for me, however, was my attitude. I started to care more about my results and I think using this website has helped. It’s never fun to report about a poorly played tournament, so my solution is to never have one! Another big factor in my continued success has been my record against GMs which is 8W – 2L – 7D since August 2012. I don’t get intimidated and instead I rise to the challenge. Often time what happens to me during a great performance is when I get paired up to the top players I lose and then play down in the next round. Once I changed this I started getting more consistent results as losing became infrequent.

The 2012 year looks like it will close out on a high, and I’m excited for what 2013 has to offer! I’m not taking my foot off the gas, with tournaments planned in Europe for December/January and then Iceland in February. My chess goal for next year is to achieve and maintain a 2550 rating and try to earn my remaining two GM norms. I have lots of chess planned for next summer, so it should be interesting. Two important goals I’ve set for the coming year(s) are:

1) Qualify for the World Cup
2) Qualify for the 2014 Canadian Olympiad team in Tromso, Norway

Let’s make it happen!