Naroditsky Wins the Samford Award

The gaze of a Grandmaster!

Bay Area Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky was awarded the prestigious Samford Chess Fellowship for 2014. Each year, the Samford recognizes a talented young master who has both the potential and work ethic to represent this country at the highest levels of international chess. The award includes a generous stipend of $42,000 for one year, which may be renewed for a second year.  In the words of IM John Donaldson, this prize gives "brilliant young American Grandmasters the support and resources necessary to enhance their skills and reach their full potential."

Last summer, Danya dominated the US Junior Championship and, a few weeks later, completed the requirements for the Grandmaster title. Indeed, his summer vacation in Europe proved quite successful, and he netted 45 rating points in three tournaments.  Now 18 years old and rated 2543 FIDE, he finds himself among the top 25 of the country and one of the top 25 juniors in the world. Not just a terrific player, he wrote two well-acclaimed chess books and is working on a third. Make sure to visit his website for more details.

Naroditsky becomes the fourth Bay Area star to earn this recognition in the last decade, joining IM David Pruess (2006), GM Vinay Bhat (2008) and GM Sam Shankland (2013).  Fellow GM Josh Friedel lived here when he won in 2007.  Two additional honorees, GM Patrick Wolff (1989) and GM Tal Shaked (1996), currently work locally, although they have retired from over-the-board competition.

Congratulations Danya!  Good luck at the 2014 US Championship in May.  No doubt, you have many fans in California cheering you on to 2600 and beyond.

Batman Captures Samford

(Vinay Bhat gave live commentary for the top boards at the 2007 CalChess Scholastics.)

According to a press release on the USCF homepage, Bay Area International Master Vinay Bhat was awarded one of two Samford Fellowships for "chess talent, work ethic, dedication and accomplishments." The nation's largest chess Fellowship, which is renewable for up to two years, provides $32,000 annually to the recipient for "top-level coaching, strong competition and access to study materials." The stated goal is to cultivate young American masters who may compete with the best players of the world. Bhat shared the honors for 2008 with IM Irina Krush of New York, the reigning US Women's Champion. Other recent Samford fellows include local IMs David Pruess and Josh Friedel.

Always a friendly and cheerful person, Vinay Bhat is quite popular among Bay Area chess players. At 10 years old in 1995, he set the record for the youngest USCF master, a mark that has been broken twice since then, most recently by NM Nicholas Nip. These days, he plays for the San Francisco Mechanics in the US Chess League, stunning top rated GM Hikaru Nakamura last October despite a 70-1 time disadvantage. Last July in Balaguer, Spain, Bhat earned the final of three norms required for the Grandmaster title. FIDE approved his application for GM, conditional on achieving an international rating of 2500. He needs less than 20 points before the title becomes official. It is merely a matter of time before we can refer to GM Vinay Bhat! Congratulations!