My Road to GM: My First GM Norm (Part 1)

Hey Chesskids! I am back with a new series: My Road to GM! In case you haven't seen the ‘My Road to IM’ series, you can check it out here. I will start this series by telling you all about my first GM norm, which I achieved in the 25th Open International Bavarian Chess Championship from the 5th-13th November. This was the youngest GM norm ever achieved in English history!

Game 1: FM Shreyas Royal (2435) vs Karlheinz Esswein (2095)

This was the first round I played in the massive 500-player field. It was a relatively simple win which was mainly decided by a nice tactic.

Can you find a way to win material for white?

I played c5! and after bxc5 a3 Ba5 dxc5, the threat of b4 is too strong - and if he plays c6 after dxc5, I have Bd6.

 End of Round 1: 1/1

Game 2: Klaus Juergens (2150) vs FM Shreyas Royal (2435)

I was now playing a very underrated chess player. It was a tight game which arose from a quiet Reti and transformed into a very frenzied game with a lot of complications. My opponent was calculating just as well as me, but had a huge adrenaline dump when it went into an endgame where I was pushing for a win. My technique was flawless and after a hard-fought game, I won.

End of Round 2: 2/2

Game 3: FM Shreyas Royal (2435) vs WGM Jana Schneider (2284)

My opponent played a very strange opening and I decided to play a very solid line to get her out of her preparation. Eventually, I outplayed her and I finished it off in really nice style. 

Can you find the quickest way to win for white?

Rxd6+! Bxd6 Ng6+! fxg6 Qg7+ Ke8 Bxd6 and mate is coming soon 

End of Round 3: 3/3 

Game 4: FM Shreyas Royal (2435) vs GM Bobby Cheng (2576)

I was now playing the #1 player from Australia. I played the Catalan against a Catalan expert, which was an opening mistake because he completely out-prepared me. When he was out of preparation, it was a tactically rich game and the game stayed dynamic and balanced for a long time.

When he got into time-pressure, he collapsed, and I won. I was elated with the victory and there were only 2 people on 4/4 at this stage. This was the highest-rated win in my career so far!

 Me thinking during Round 4. Photo Credit: Sandra Schmidt

End of Round 4: 4/4

A perfect start to the tournament brought me closer to getting my first GM norm, but I still have still have to finish off the job. I hope you enjoyed reading the first part, and stay tuned for part two where I try to take some more nice scalps!