Congratulations to Freddy Waldhausen Gordon, who is seen here receiving an International Master (IM) norm for his brilliant 2500+ performance at the very strong Graz International Open Tournament last month. Amazingly, this is Freddy’s seventh (!) IM norm. In the old days, getting three was enough, but recent changes to the rules meant that at least one norm had to be achieved in an open tournament to secure the title – and this is it!
At 15 years old, Freddy becomes Scotland’s youngest ever International Master. It is not that long since Freddy was playing at Alva Street as part of Edinburgh Chess Club’s Tiger Cubs junior team, coached by club members Andrew Green and Geoff Chandler. Freddy’s progress has been stellar in recent years, and he is one of the UK’s leading junior players and, at senior level, already challenging to be Scotland’s board 1.
We are proud that he is part of our chess community here in Edinburgh and wish him all the very best for his future.