28th North American Masters
By Sevan Muradian   
March 3, 2012
Martha200.jpg
IM Martha Fierro
The 28th North American Masters kicks off on March 11th at the North Shore Chess Center. The event is a chess extravaganza showcasing two GM norm sections, along with a head to head match between the #1 player from the Philippines, GM Wesley So, and the #2 player from Germany, GM Georg Meier. GM's So and Meier will play a 4 game match at classical time controls followed by a 4 game rapid rated event.

The GM Group A section is a double round robin event featuring 3 Grandmasters, Elshan Moradiabadi, Mesgen Amanov, and Andre Diamant. Taking them on in the hunt for their GM norms includes Italian IM Robert Morganzini, Canadian IM Leonid Gerzhoy, and the US's own IM Mac Molner who is trying to close out his final GM norm. A score of 6.5/10 is required for the GM norm.

In GM Group B, a traditional single round robin, we have Grandmasters Anatoly Bykhovsky of Israel, Josh Friedel of the US, and Denes Boros of Hungary. Players seeking GM norms include US IM's Danny Rensch, Darwin Yang, Lev Milman, and Florin Felecan. Additionally we have IM Vitaly Niemer of Israel, Faig Alesgarov of Azerbaijan, and IM Martha Fierro, the Secretary of the FIDE Commission for Women's Chess. A score of 6.5/9 is required for the GM Norm.

For more information on the event you can visit http://www.nachess.org/namasters