My Chess Life

A LOOK AT MAS GM TITLE AMBITION

Mas Hafizulhelmi IM 2422 MAS Rp:2402
Rd.	SNo		Name	Rtg	FED	Rp	Pts.	Res.	Bo.
1	16	GM	Adams Michael	2728	ENG	2687	6,0	w ½	1
2	522		Tsang Hon Ki	2085	HKG	1984	2,5	s 1	1
3	99	GM	Rozentalis Eduardas	2611	LTU	2476	4,0	s 1	1
4	117	GM	Pelletier Yannick	2592	SUI	2411	4,5	w ½	1
5	360	FM	Gemy Jose Daniel	2325	BOL	2216	3,0	s ½	1
6	610		Berardi Giancarlo	0	SMR	1580	0,0	w 1	1
7	242	GM	Gruenfeld Yehuda	2464	ISR	2394	4,5	w 0	1
9	182	GM	De La Riva Aguado Oscar	2521	AND	2665	7,5	s 0	1
10	328	FM	Jones Richard S	2373	WLS	2205	4,0	w 1	1
11	498		Al Sulaiti Ali	2134	BRN	1919	2,5	s	1

I was reading the FIDE Handbook about title requirements, and boy, I did not understand it at all! What I can take from the handbook which I think are related to IM Mas title ambition:

1.4 The GM, IM, WGM, WIM titles can also be gained by achieving norms in internationally rated tournaments played according to the following regulations.
1.41a The player must play at least 9 games
1.45b For a GM norm at least 1/3 with a minimum 3 of the opponents (MO) must be GMs.
1.46c For the purposes of norms, the minimum rating (adjusted rating floor) for the opponents shall be as follows:

Grandmaster International Master Woman Grandmaster Woman International Master

2200 2050 2000 1850

1.48 Performance Rating (Rp)
In order to achieve a norm, a player must perform at a level at least of that shown below:

	Minimum level prior to rounding	Minimum level after rounding
GM	2599.5	2600
IM	2449.5	2450
WGM	2399.5	2400
WIM	2249.5	2250

1.5	Requirements for award of the title, having achieved norms
	1.50	Two or more norms in events covering at least 27 games.
	1.51	If a norm is sufficient for more than one title, then it may be used as part of the application for both.
	1.52	To have achieved at some time or other a rating as follows: GM IM WGM WIM ≥2500 ≥2400 ≥2300 ≥2200

So, in conclusion, I think Mas will not get a GM norm in this Olympiad because:

1. he only currently perform at Rp 2402 (article 1.48) ,
2. he is not likely to get a rating of 2500 from his current rating 2422 (article 1.52),
3. he had 3 opponents rated below 2200 (article 1.46c) which will reduce his number of games against minimum rating for his opponents (1.41a) to only 7 games.

However, I am still hopeful that my interpretation of these requirements is a flaw, and that Mas will get his GM norm, and Malaysia will get its first Grandmaster.