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Hikaru Nakamura earns two International Master Norms
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(January 31, 2001)
Thirteen year old Hikaru Nakamura
earned two International Master(IM) norms this month!
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Norm #1.
Hikaru earned his first norm in the VIII "Anibal" Open tournament in Linares, Spain, January 8-18.
In Linares, Hikaru qualified by scoring 6.5-4.5, again against a Category 7 field (average FIDE rating 2419).
The players he faced in the 161-player open included two Grandmasters and
seven International Masters. The overall field included 37 GMs and 60 IMs.
Norm #2.
Competing in the VI Open Ciudad de Ubeda, Spain, January 21-30,
Hikaru scored 6-4 against a Category 7 field (average FIDE rating 2413).
The players he faced in the 129-player open included five Grandmasters and
three International Masters. The overall field included 32 GMs and 55 IMs.
Hikaru reached the +2 mark with this nice win
in the 7th round over the Latvian IM Viesturs Meijers (2483).
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About the IM Norm. To win the title of International Master, you must achieve results at officially
determined levels in FIDE-sanctioned tournaments.
FIDE (Federation Internationale des Echecs)
is the governing body of world chess,
and the sole recognized agent for the conferring of International chess titles.
In each FIDE tournament, scoring standards are set for IM (International Master) and
GM (Grandmaster) based on the tournament "Category",
which in turn is based on the average FIDE rating of the opponents faced.
A player who meets the standard is said to have earned a "norm" for that title.
The title is conferred upon obtaining two or more norms in tournaments totaling 24 games,
and reaching a certain ratings level (2400 for IM and 2500 for GM). See a complete description of title regulations here.
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Continuing the quest. Hikaru's official FIDE rating in the January 2001 list is 2364.
The two norms earned in Spain total 21 games.
He needs one more norm in a round-robin tournament to be awarded the title of International Master.
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About Hikaru. Hikaru made National headlines in 1998 when he
became the youngest USCF National Master ever at the age of only 10 years and 79 days.
He made International headlines in February 1999 when he beat Grandmaster Alexander Stripunsky in
regulation time control, at the record age of 11 years and two months.
In October 2000, he tied for third in the under-14 section of the World Youth Championships,
and was awarded the FIDE Master title at the age of 12.
Now 13, Hikaru continues to improve rapidly and aspire to new heights.
Articles about Hikaru.
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