My Road To IM: Next Steps For Shreyas
Hi ChessKids! Shreyas here, back with another article. This time to share with you a recent tournament success.IM Norm Event and Crossing 2350 FIDE
I played an International Master Norm Event in England where I scored a 5.5/9, just missing out on a norm by half a point! However, it was still a fantastic result because I will now be 2350+ FIDE. This makes me the number-one-rated teenager in England.
It also shows how important it is to be "solid" and how draws are not always a bad thing (especially vs. higher-rated players). I had seven draws and two wins but came joint second, despite being the lowest-rated and being undefeated!
Game Recap
Round 1: FM Shreyas Royal (2272) vs. FM Adam Ashton (2379)
The game was a very sharp and tactical match vs. the second seed. I briefly had the advantage due to his king being very weak (Reminder: Care for the King's safety!), but it led to some material imbalances, and he found the only move to save the game!
Can you find the only move to save the game for Black here?
1...f4 is the correct move, which gives him enough time to take on c3 and cause counterthreats.
Eventually, I was the one who needed to find the draw.
End of Round 1: 0.5/1
Round 2: FM Yichen Han (2347) vs. FM Shreyas Royal (2272)
I was now playing a fellow junior from the Netherlands. I had expected the Giuoco Piano, but since the Italian has a lot of move orders, we somehow transposed to the Four Knights Italian, where pins on g5 can often be very nasty. However, I found a way to remove it effectively.
Can you find the best move here? Hint: Try to remove the defender who is stopping the advance ...g5.
1...Nd4 is the move! Bg4 is also fine though.
After that, he gave me the bishop pair and we exchanged off into an endgame where we drew.
End of Round 2: 1/2
Round 3: FM Shreyas Royal (2272) vs. IM Stephen Mannion (2281)
I was starting to feel a bit tired, due to the fact there were two long rounds every day along with preparation vs. the opponents, etc. My opponent played the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, and I had prepared a clever and good line, but he seemed to deviate later on (Reminder: Try to memorize opening lines but also understand them!). I was eventually forced to exchange pieces and get into a drawn position.
End of Round 3: 1.5/3
I had a good rest which made me energized to play even better chess the next day….
Round 4: FM Paul Macklin (2341) vs. FM Shreyas Royal (2272)
I was now playing quite a strong but not frequent player. Once again it was an Italian, where instead of acting in the center, he went for a queenside offensive while I went for a kingside one. It became close once again, but both of us missed a winning move for white.
Can you find the only winning move for White?
1. Qd1 is right! The idea is it threatens BOTH dxe5 and gxh5 along with protecting the f3 knight. Backward moves are so hard to see...
Since he did not find it, he was losing. As the game continued, I let him back in a bit due to some time pressure, but once again, he had to be very accurate in the endgame. Still, with my blitz skills, which I constantly practice on ChessKid (Send a friend request to ‘crushmaster2019’ and check the events calendar to know when you can play against me!), he did not stand a chance, and with accurate play by me, he eventually lost.
End of Round 4: 2.5/4