Lenderman and Barcenilla Earn Norms in Mesa; Gareev Tops Field
June 3, 2009
19-year-old IM Alex Lenderman won in the final round of the Copper State International (May 29-June 3, Mesa, Arizona) against IM Levon Altounian to earn a ten-round GM norm, his first norm.

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Meanwhile IM Rogelio Barcenilla of the Phillipines won over GM Zviad Izoria to earn his third and final GM norm!

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Surprisingly, IMs Barcenilla and Lenderman's stellar scores of 7/10 and 7.5/10 were not enough to win the tournament. GM Timur Gareev topped the field with a fantastic 8/10 score. The University of Maryland Baltimore Country student dashed IM Daniel Fernandez's own hopes for a GM norm with this final round victory:

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More details coming soon, including an in-depth report by organizer and participant FM Daniel Rensch.
Look for more information on the tournament and upcoming ACE events on the American Chess Events homepage.