18 April 2016

Karjakin's GM Title

While I was working on the post Karjakin's TWIC Debut (TWIC = TheWeekInChess.com), I found details about Karjakin's acquisition of the GM title.

As for the first norm, Mark Crowther reported on the event in TWIC 379 (11 February 2002), where the only mention of Karjakin was his final score:-

2) Aeroflot Open 2002 • The Aeroflot Open 2002 took place in Moscow 4th-11th February 2002. Five players, Gregory Kaidanov, Alexander Grischuk, Aleksej Aleksandrov, Alexander Shabalov and Vadim Milov finished on 6.5/9.
[...]
58. Karjakin, Sergey m UKR 2460 5.0 2460 34,5 2605
[...]

Karjakin's exploit was reported by Chessbase.com in Record-breaking mini-grandmaster?. It carried the dateline 16 May 2002, and started,

Can you imagine that you may soon have to address the boy in this picture respectfully as "grandmaster"? 12-year-old Sergei Karjakin (learn to pronounce it now: car-yack-kin!) has just gained his second GM norm and looks poised to gain his title well before his 13th [birthday] in January 2003. That would make him the only person in the world to become a grandmaster and second a world champion [GM Ponomariov] before reaching his teens!
Later the article informed,
On 20 August 2002, Ukraine Chess Online reported that Sergey Karjakin has fulfilled his last GM norm. He did so at the international chess tournament in Sudak, a town on the Crimea Peninsula, Ukraine. This makes him the youngest GM in chess history. His FIDE rating is 2523.

As for the Ponomariov connection, a few months later in The 2006 world chess champion? (subtitled 'Interview with Sergey Karjakin'), Chessbase.com reported,

Q: One year ago you were one of Ponomariov's team members. Why? • A: Before that I beat him in a couple of friendly rapid games in a chess club, and I think he was impressed by that. So, he invited me to work with him.

For more about GM Ponomariov's win over fellow Ukrainian GM Ivanchuk, see 2001-02 FIDE Knockout Matches. Karjakin's debut in the World Championship was at Tripoli for the 2004 FIDE Knockout Matches, where he was eliminated in the first round.

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