IM Not A GM Speed Chess Championship Semifinals Set

The semifinals of the IM Not A GM Speed Chess Championship‎ will be played among IMs John Bartholomew, Teddy Coleman, Alina Kashlinskaya, and Greg Shahade, who won their quarterfinal matches this week.

The first semifinal featuring Kashlinskaya vs. Coleman took place Thursday, May 14 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time (19:00 CEST) and the second semifinal will take place Saturday, May 16 at 4 p.m. Pacific Time (01:00 May 17 CEST). The match will be broadcast live on Chess.com/TV with commentary from GMs Robert Hess and Daniel Naroditsky.

Kashlinskaya-Rosen 13-8

The match score in this first quarterfinal didn't go as the winner expected. Kashlinskaya lost the five-minute segment 2.5-4.5, was equal again after the three-minute, and then gained a big victory thanks to scoring 6.5-1.5 in the bullet.

"I was surprised," she said. "I thought my chances would be in the five-minute games, but it turned out that in this time control, I was just being outplayed totally, and I thought in the one-minute games I would have no chances, but somehow I got lucky there."

Rosen: "She did a very good job of converting winning positions so it was hard to fight."

Game 16 saw Kashlinskaya finding a great finish:

Kashlinskaya won $200 outright and $123.81 based on win percentage, so $323.81 in total. Rosen won $76.91 on percentage. Combined with the $256.25 in the first round, she earned $332.44 in the competition.

The next opponent for Kashlinskaya is Coleman.  

All games of the match

Coleman-Rozman 11.5-9.5

The most thrilling of the four quarterfinals, this match was the second edge-of-your-seat affair for Coleman in a row. A software engineer for a start-up in "real life," Coleman's place in the semifinals can be called an upset which came about only after the final, decisive bullet game.   

"I thought I was in trouble in the bullet, but I somehow kept it together," said the winner. Asked if he would do things differently if he could to it all over, Rozman quipped: "If I would do something over I wouldn't have Teddy as my opponent!"

Slightly surprisingly, Coleman was actually faster than Rozman in several games. Him winning a game on time freaked out commentator GM Robert Hess in a funny way:

Coleman, who was leading by only one point before the final bullet game, won $200 outright and $109.52 based on win percentage, so $309.52 in total. Rozman won $90.48 on percentage and combined with the $258.75 in the first round, he earned $349.69 in the competition.

The next opponent for Coleman is Kashlinskaya.

All games of the match

Bartholomew-Trent 15.5-7.5

Generally considered to be the favorite for the championship, Bartholomew took a big lead in the five-minute games: 5.5-1.5. As the score was tied in the three-minute, Trent needed to make a big comeback in the bullet but couldn't manage it.

"Congratulations to John, he deserved the victory no question," he said. "I didn't get my flow going; there were some mouse slips; there were some blunders."

There was a fun moment in the final game where both players were laughing as Trent hung his queen, and Bartholomew missed it. The stuff that happens in bullet...

Bartholomew won $200 outright and $134.78 based on win percentage, so $334.78 in total. Trent won $65.22 on percentage, and combined with the $255.68 in the first round, he earned $320.90 in the competition.

The next opponent for Bartholomew is Shahade.

All games of the match

Shahade-Yip 12.5-9.5

The last quarterfinal was a close one as well. After a 3.5-3.5 tie in the five-minute segment, Shahade took a four-point lead early in the three-minute, but then almost gave it all away as he lost three in a row.

"When I was up by four, I was like: This match is over," Shahade said. "I could do whatever I want, and I got really lazy in that game, and then the next game was terrible, and then I was like: I'm gonna lose for sure. So… yes, yes, I thought I was in big trouble at that point!"

A particularly powerful game from the winner was game eight, although Yip missed a wonderful way to make a draw at the end:

Shahade won $200 outright and $113.64 based on win percentage, so $313.64 in total. Yip won $86.36 on percentage and combined with the $242.05 in the first round, she earned $328.41 in the competition.

The next opponent for Shahade is Bartholomew.

All games of the match

The inaugural IM Not A GM Speed Chess Championship exclusively features international masters in an effort to bring entertainment to the Chess.com audience. All matches are broadcast live with commentary and occasional roasting from GMs Vidit Gujrathi, Robert Hess and Daniel Naroditsky on Chess.com/TV and Twitch.tv/Chess. 

Matches feature 75 minutes of 5+1 blitz, 45 minutes of 3+1 blitz, and 25 minutes of 1+1 bullet chess. The total prize fund is $6,000. The semifinals are scheduled for the second week of May.

Related posts:

• IM Not A GM Speed Chess Championship Moves To Quarterfinals
• Rosen, Shahade Reach IM Not A GM Speed Chess Championship Quarterfinals
• Kashlinskaya Beats Sielecki In Thrilling IM Not A GM Match
• Bartholomew, Rozman Reach IM Not A GM Speed Chess Championship Quarterfinals
• IM Not A GM Speed Chess Championship info article‎