Brewington Hardaway earns final GM norm!

Daaim Shabazz September 1, 2024

1 4,278 2 minutes read

Photo from X (Brewington Hardaway)

Fifteen-year-old Brewington Hardaway made his long-awaited trip abroad in search of his final GM norm. He chose the Ciutat de Barcelona International Chess Open as the staging ground for his GM title pursuit. There was a buzz being generated in social media after “Brew” started out 4/4 and then undefeated at 5/6. He then faced Lithuanian Grandmaster Paulius Pultinevicius and then Hungary’s Gergely Kantor.

The American IM Brewington Hardaway (2471 fide) draws against the Hungarian GM Gergely Kantor (2525 fide). Hardaway, with 15 years old, has 6,5 points in eight rounds without losing a game.#santschess #chess #barcelona #chessplayer #chessplayers #chessgrandmaster pic.twitter.com/9NAXnzt1Mn
— SantsChess (@SantsChess) August 30, 2024

After drawing against Kantor, he clinched the norm after draws with Germany’s GM Alexander Donchenko and Spanish IM Carles Diaz Camallongna. Hardaway completed all of his norms for the IM (#1, #2, #3) and GM titles (#1, #2, #3) in approximately 21 months. He will most likely earn the required 2500 Elo soon. Following are the regulations:

2.1 Applications for these titles must be prepared on these forms and all the information required supplied together with the application: GM; IM; WGM; WIM – IT2, IT1s
2.2 Applications must be submitted to FIDE by the federation of the applicant. The national federation is responsible for the fee.
2.3 Title applications should be submitted at least 30 days before the meeting at which they are to be considered. There is a 50% surcharge for applications to be considered in a shorter timescale than this.
2.4 All applications together with full details must be posted on the FIDE website for a minimum of 30 days prior to finalisation. This is in order for any objections to be lodged.

FIDE reference: https://www.fide.com/docs/regulations/FIDE%20Title%20Regulations%202022.pdf

The new GM-Elect posted the following message on X.

I just got my final GM Norm at the 2024 Sants Open! My FIDE Rating is now 2489 which means I need 11 more points to become GM! This is the first time I’ve played outside the U.S in a few years and it was a great experience. Thank you @SantsChess for hosting an incredible event! pic.twitter.com/HREy9WbdH0
— Brewington Hardaway (@IMBrewChess) September 1, 2024