Noah Albury earns provisional Candidate Master (CM) title

By Kean Smith (kean@nimblemindschess.org)

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In today's blog, we interview Noah who recently returned from his first Chess Olympiad.  He shares details about his experience and chess results.
  
Interviewer: Welcome back to The Bahamas from Chennai, India.  This Chess Olympiad was your first.  Which matches did you play in and how would you describe your overall result?
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Noah: Thank you! I played 7 games. These games were in the 1st round against Latvia, the 2nd round against Sri Lanka, the 5th round against Jersey, the 6th round against Seychelles, the 8th round against Burundi, the 10th round against Bahrain and the 11th round against Mali. I think I did pretty well considering the fact that this was my first Olympiad and I won more than 50% of my games.

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Interviewer: How were the general conditions for the players including the organisation of the tournament?
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Noah: The general conditions were very good. At the tournament venue there were metal detectors and lots of security guards to make sure that everything and everyone was secure. They also provided cookies, chocolates and refreshments for the players in the playing area. As for outside of the tournament there was a buffet everyday at the hotel we stayed at. The food at the hotel was amazing and the service was good as well.

Noah with Chennia in the background

Interviewer: What was your objective when you arrived at the Olympiad?

Noah: My objective when I arrived at the Olympiad was to gain experience and win some games. However, I did not expect to win as many as I did, nor did I expect to attain a Candidate Master title.
 
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Interviewer: I understand from the World Chess Federation website that you have been provisionally granted a Candidate Master title.  What was the performance you needed to achieve in order to qualify for this title and how do you feel about this achievement?
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Noah: To achieve a conditional Candidate Master title one needed to win 50% of ones games out of a minimum of 7 games. I feel great about achieving this! As mentioned before, I did not expect to win that many games so the fact that I did gave me much more confidence in my abilities as a chess player.

Noah Albury, 44th Chess Olympiad 2022, Chennia, India

Interviewer: What was your most memorable game and why?

​Noah: My most memorable game was in round 3 against CM Garry Forbes from the country of Jersey. In this game I was in a losing position and down on time. Thankfully, my opponent blundered mate in two when I started putting more pressure on him. He resigned before I could deliver checkmate. This game was also my first win. CM Forbes has a FIDE rating of 1908. The win gave me the confidence and motivation I needed to go on to win other games.

 
Interviewer: In an interview with you on 7th May, 2022, you explained that you have played in several international chess tournaments including the North American Youth Chess Championship 2019.  How did the format and standard of play differ in the Olympiad when compared to the other tournaments you played in?

Noah: The format for this tournament was game in 90 minutes with 30 seconds increment each move and an additional 30 minutes on move 40. This time format was not that different from the other tournaments as the other international tournaments that I went to were also classical tournaments.
 

 Interviewer: Congratulations on earning your CM title.  As a final question, tell us what is next for you as far as chess is concerned?

Noah: Next, I plan on raising my rating so that FIDE officially grants me my Candidate Master title. To get the title I need to achieve a FIDE rating of 2000.