Not long ago, Pontus Carlsson (2522 Swedish, 2394 FIDE) did not hold a FIDE title. In less than two years, he has picked up three IM norms and one recent GM norm at 2005 European Club Championship. His application for the IM title was approved at the Dresden FIDE 76th Congress (August 17th-24th) after earning IM five norms in total!

In the European Club Championship ending August 7th, Carlsson made a GM norm after a 2613 performance on board #4 for the "Sweden 2" team. His team had climbed into contention after round five, but  lost crucial matches to Poland, Germany and "Sweden 1." Carlsson boost his team's efforts with four wins, including an impressive win over Poland's Radoslaw Wojtaszek.

In the recently ended Swedish Championship (SM Gruppen), the 22-year old Carlsson ended with 6½-6½. He played in a round-robin with seven GMs, two IMs, one FM (himself) and three untitled, but 2300+ FIDE-rated players. He told The Chess Drum that he actually gained another IM norm in that tournament, but his title had been conferred already. Certainly, there is no doubt.

Carlsson, born in Columbia, had spent several months in Spain and picked up three IM norms including one at the Open Internacional Bajada de la Virgen in June. He had already earned one  IM norm in Sweden and another in the 2002 European Club Championships in Greece. The  GM result is a testament to the strength of this rising star.

Pontus Carlsson's Games (2005 European Team Championship)

Round 1: Carlsson (2394 Sweden) - GM Jan Votava (2542 Czech Republic), ½-½.
Round 3: Carlsson - IM Olav Sepp (2462 Estonia), 1-0.
Round 4: Carlsson - IM Dejan Bojkov (2522 Bulgaria), 1-0.
Round 5: GM Florian Jenni (2494 Switzerland) - Carlsson, 1-0.
Round 6: Carlsson - GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2591 Poland), 1-0.
Round 7: GM Leonid Kritz (2544 Germany)  - Carlsson, 1-0.
Round 8: Carlsson - GM Emanuel Berg (2539 Sweden), ½-½.
Round 9: IM Bragi Thorfinnsson (2448 Iceland) - Carlsson, 0-1.

Score: 5-3 (GM Norm)

Team Standings
Board List
Carlsson's Games
All Games (PGN format)


Pontus Carlsson's Games (2005 Swedish Championship)

Round 1: Carlsson (2522 Swedish ELO) - GM Pia Cramling (2600 Swedish ELO), ½-½.
Round 2: Kezli Ong (2453) - Carlsson, ½-½.
Round 3: Carlsson - Ingvar Andréasson (2433),  1-0.
Round 4: GM Evgenij Agrest (2668) - Carlsson, ½-½.
Round 5: Carlsson - IM Emil Hermansson (2507), ½-½.
Round 6: GM Stellan Brynell (2594) - Carlsson, ½-½.
Round 7: Carlsson - GM Tiger Hillarp Person (2569), 0-1.
Round 8: Carlsson - IM Anders Olsson (2531), 1-0.
Round 9: Bosse Lindberg (2476) - Carlsson, ½-½.
Round 10: Carlsson - GM Emanuel Berg (2641), 1-0.
Round 11: Ralf Åkesson (2571) - Carlsson, 1-0.
Round 12: Carlsson - GM Thomas Ernst (2552), 0-1.
Round 13: Hans Tikkanen (2414) - Carlsson, ½-½.

Score: 6½-6½

Standings
Carlsson's Games
All Games (PGN format)

Posted by The Chess Drum: 30 August 2005