GothamChess Tops Group B With 9-Game Winning Streak, Shahade Takes Group A

IMs Greg Shahade and Levy Rozman (aka GothamChess) advance to the 2023 I'M Not A GM Speed Chess Championship Semifinals after winning Groups A and B, respectively, on Thursday. 

Shahade's victory was a close call, and it only came after he held an armageddon game with the black pieces against IM Eline Roebers. Rozman, on the other hand, went on a tear, winning his first two matches 4-0. IM Shreyas Royal lost the first game of their match but ended Rozman's nine-game streak in the next game. Just as the English junior threatened to win the match, Rozman won twice to turn it around.

Groups C and D begin their matches on Friday, October 13, starting at 11 a.m. ET / 17:00 CEST / 20:30 IST. 

• Group A
• Group B

The format of this year's IMSCC, now with the Group Stage, is different than previous editions. Essentially, the rounds before the Semifinals are more streamlined or accelerated—the later stages will remain the same. Of course, the core tenet of the event stays the same: no GMs allowed!

16 initial players are divided into four groups, A-D. Each group features a four-player all-play-all tournament; each individual match consists of two 5+1 games, two 3+1 games, and two 1+1.

The first player to reach 3.5 points wins an individual match, so it's possible to clinch the match before the bullet games even begin. A bidding armageddon game would be the tiebreaker, if needed. Logically, the player who wins the most matches tops the group.

The winner of each group (ultimately, four players) will advance to the Semifinals, which will be on Monday, October 16. From that point onward, we will see the standard Speed Chess Championship format.

Group A

As per tradition, Chess.com's Pro Chess League Commissioner Shahade threw the first proverbial punch at IM Lawrence Trent, who's in Group D. 

I see @LawrenceTrentIM begged the organizers not to be in my group https://t.co/Ev0GoN6rBy

— Greg Shahade (@GregShahade) October 11, 2023

Trent, who is known for responding with trash-talking of his own, responded later, only after Shahade had won his group:

You're such a lucky fish @GregShahade @chesscom #imnotagm

— Lawrence Trent (@LawrenceTrentIM) October 12, 2023

The other players in Group A were Chess.com Polish Director IM Dawid Czerw, the 2023 Dutch women's champion and rising junior Roebers, and the 2023 European women's champion IM Meri Arabidze. 

Shahade and Arabidze won their matches in round one, but the two players who lost—Czerw and Roebers—struck back in round two. Going into the third and final round, every one of the four players had one match victory, meaning tiebreaks were guaranteed. 

Round three was the first true turning point as it eliminated Czerw and Arabidze.

Shahade, against Arabidze, put up the best possible score in this format, bashing out four straight wins; no losses, no draws. The third game was an emotional rollercoaster as Shahade slipped out of a lost position to win again. We skip to Black's last chance to win, but already she had to find the study-like 53...Rg3!!. 

Roebers, on the other hand, was in for a much closer struggle against Czerw. Every single game was decisive, but the score was still tied at the end of six games.

With White, she won the armageddon game on demand with an awe-inspiring queen sacrifice:

Tiebreaks

The group was down to two players now, Shahade and Roebers. They would play four bullet games and 2.5 points would win the match.

Roebers won the first game, but Shahade struck back with two wins of his own. Needing just a draw to win the match, he hung a rook on a1 and lost the game.

Shahade hangs a rook! 😱#IMSCC #SpeedChess pic.twitter.com/4XuDTPFxSk

— chess24.com (@chess24com) October 12, 2023

We had the second armageddon, and although Roebers won her first, she wouldn't repeat that feat again.

Roebers started with 1.f4, the Bird's Opening. In the interview, she explained that she plays the Dutch with Black, so why not with White?

In the middlegame, she did win the exchange, objectively great, but her king was wide open. Even if Stockfish yawns at such so-called "dangers" and gives White a large advantage, Shahade was able to make practical use of this factor. He ultimately gave a perpetual check, needing just a draw with Black to win the match.

Shahade started the interview by saying: "I had so many lost positions that I didn't lose... Luckily, it worked out! But my brain is like messed up."

He also shared insight into his opening preparation: "I tried a new plan of not preparing very much," pointing out that he played a large variety of openings. He also took another shot at Trent, to whom he lost in last year's match:

Does @GregShahade look forward to a rematch with @LawrenceTrentIM?

"For us to have a grudge match, he would have to win his group. And I just don't see that happening... I don't think it's gonna be in this tournament, but maybe some other time, you know."#IMSCC #SpeedChess pic.twitter.com/ulHHVi1oa7

— chess24.com (@chess24com) October 12, 2023

All Games | Group A

Group B 

Group B started half an hour after the first group concluded. This group brought on the next four players:

• 2021 finalist Rozman 
• Streamer and commentator FM Nemo Qiyu Zhou (akaNemsko)
• Streamer and prolific author IM Christof Sielecki (Chessexplained) 
• 14-year-old and rising English junior, Royal

Rozman and Sielecki won their first matches in convincing fashion. Sielecki showed his class with a 3.5-1.5 score against the dangerous junior, and Rozman swept Zhou 4-0. 

Rozman's last game in that match was a nice attacking effort on the black side of the French Defense Rubenstein Variation, with the sharp choice 6...gxf6. Our Game of the Day is annotated by GM Dejan Bojkov below. 

The two first-round victors faced off in round two, and Rozman won yet another match with a perfect score. The first three games were decided in the endgame, but the last one ended on move 29. An exchange sacrifice wrapped it up, one that was as thematic as it was beautiful, ripping open the long diagonal against the white king.

Rozman seemed unstoppable and needed just one more match to win the group. He would later share: "I was hoping for a 12-0 run after I went 8-0, but this will have to do. I'm still happy with how I played, but I need a beer!"

I was hoping for a 12-0 run after I went 8-0, but this will have to do. 

—Levy Rozman

He won the first game against Royal, but suddenly he lost the next two. In game four, on the verge of losing the match, he pulled off an absolute miracle in a totally lost position, finding a threefold repetition in the time scramble.

From there, the psychological trend turned in Rozman's favor. From an equal position, he won game five by sacrificing his rook to promote a passed pawn. Shreyas totally collapsed in the second bullet game, blundering a knight on move 12.  

After tying the match with his back against the wall, @GothamChess wins Group B thanks to a shocking blunder!#IMSCC #SpeedChess pic.twitter.com/Ma30uS4uqa

— chess24.com (@chess24com) October 12, 2023

In the interview, Rozman made a comment that teetered on the line between self-compliment and self-own: "When I play my best... I think I can play at GM level. It's just about being consistent. Like, weak GM you know, crappy GM, like 2507 GM and then like never played chess again and, you know, got invited to random European shady norm tournaments and lost like 100 FIDE points. That type of GM."

He also half-complimented, half-owned Shahade:

"@GregShahade is a nightmare opponent because all he does like for eight hours a day is CrossFit and openings, and I hate preparing for him because I can't play anything stupid," says @GothamChess. #IMSCC #SpeedChess pic.twitter.com/0ThmULIzYW

— chess24.com (@chess24com) October 12, 2023

All Games | Group B

Group Standings

The I'M Not A GM Speed Chess Championship is a spin-off of Chess.com's beloved Speed Chess Championship. Starting on October 12 at 11 a.m. ET/17:00 CEST/20:30 IST, players of IM (international master) strength will compete in a series of fast chess matches. The event features a $15,000 prize fund.

Previous coverage

• Back For More Brilliancies: The I'M Not A GM Speed Chess Championship 2023