Aiming for the GM norms

Plotting their moves
By Joshua Hull AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Tuesday, March 17, 2009Story last updated at 3/17/2009 – 1:51 am

Master chess players from around the globe converged on Lubbock on Monday to kick off the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence Spring Invitational.

The 10-round tournament will give the world-class players a chance to boost their ratings, and for some a shot at the coveted title of grandmaster.

Hosted at Texas Tech, the tournament is yet another stride the university has taken to make a name for itself in the international chess community with the help of Polgar and her own renowned champion-player status.

Six players will compete over the next week to improve their standings, each competitor either of international master or international grandmaster status.

Gergely Antal, an international master from Hungary and economics student at Tech, said he has been working for months to prepare for the tournament, which could gain him grandmaster status.

Champion of his native country by age 10, Antal said having the tournament at Tech has helped him to focus, and he hopes, will help him have an advantage over the other players.

“It’s very comfortable for me because for a chess tournament, you need to prepare a lot and rest a lot,” he said. “For me, it’s good being here.”

There are no special rituals Antal said he performs before a tournament, other than studying up on his opponents.

“It’s like every chess player does the same thing before,” he said. “Prepare for the tournament.”

With players from Europe, Mongolia and the U.S., one of the tournament’s players stuck out not for his achievements, but for his age.

At 14, Ray Robson is the current youngest U.S. international master, a title he won just more than a year ago in Iceland. He has been competing in tournaments since age 7.

Robson just returned from a tournament in Moscow where he challenged several grandmasters, leading Polgar to call him the next Bobby Fischer.

Ray’s father, Gary Robson, said the teen had little time to prepare for the tournament following his trip to Moscow, but neither father nor son is worried about the outcome.

“I think just playing where he was playing was enough for this tournament,” Gary Robson said. “Basically, you just have to beat the people at preparation, and if everything’s even, hopefully you can beat them on the board.”

The elder Robson said he never had an interest in chess until his son was 3 years old, when the two began playing for fun.

Though a chess player of his son’s level may not be common in the Western hemisphere, he said the other players don’t seem to notice.

“I think it’s less unusual outside the U.S.,” he said.

As the third international tournament of its kind hosted at Tech, Polgar said she’s proud to be a part of Tech’s growing reputation as a center for chess excellence.

As the current top-ranked female player in the U.S., she said it’s been a pleasure creating a lasting program for her life’s passion in Lubbock.

“It gives publicity and visibility to Texas Tech around the world,” she said.

Source: Avalanche Journal