IM Levy Rozman, also known as “GothamChess”, has taken another step towards the GM title after participating in the Spilimbergo Open and scoring 6/9. Although Rozman was tied with a rating of 2370, his victory over GM Alberto David in the last round is a promising sign that Rozman can reach new heights.
The winner of the event was designated GM Mahdi Gholami Orimi, who defeated GM Marcin Tazbir and IM Kundu Kaustuv in a tiebreak despite not playing in the first round. For his efforts, Gholami receives a first prize of €1,500 and 11 rating points.
Final score
| Rank | Seeds | Lined | title | name | Reviews | Points | TB |
| 1 | 5 | I AM | Mahdi Gholami Orimi | 2496 | 7 | 47 | |
| 2 | 6 | GM | Marcin Tazbir | 2492 | 7 | 46 | |
| 3 | 20 | I AM | Kundu Cave | 2419 | 7 | 40 | |
| 4 | 3 | GM | Pier Luigi Basso | 2507 | 7 | 51 | |
| 5 | 7 | GM | Oskar Wieczorek | 2491 | 7 | 50 | |
| 6 | 1 | GM | Daniel Dardha | 2608 | 7 | 48 | |
| 7 | 13 | I AM | Marius Fromm | 2447 | 7 | 48 | |
| 8 | 89 | FM | Mattia Pegno | 2150 | 7 | 46 | |
| 9 | 10 | FM | Pawel Sowinski | 2463 | 7 | 46 | |
| 10 | 17 | GM | Azer Mirzoev | 2429 | 7 | 45 | |
| *26 | 28 | I AM | Levy Rozman | 2370 | 6 | 38 |
I finished my tournament in Italy with a big win over the legendary Grandmaster Alberto David, 2507 Elo.
It was a tough tournament, but I am so happy to finish with such a good result.
In my comeback to competitive chess, I have now defeated three grandmasters.
I am so happy.
— GothamChess (@GothamChess) 15 August 2024
For much of chess history, the only way to follow high-level tournaments was to read a newspaper’s chess column or wait for the latest Chess Informant to be published to watch the games. As for direct access to players and personalities, this was limited to organizers and journalists. Suffice it to say, the experience for chess fans has become infinitely more intense.
Rozman is one of the pioneers in providing this immersion, and with over five million YouTube subscribers, his participation in every tournament becomes an instant spectacle. At the Spilimbergo Open, viewers were able to follow Rozman’s performance via live broadcasts on YouTube hosted by his coach, GM Arturs Neiksans, and then watch Rozman’s thoughts on his matches in recaps.
To further enhance the viewing experience, GM Hikaru Nakamura also produced summaries of Rozman’s games (in the past it was unthinkable for the world number two to commentate on an IM’s games).
Rozman opened the match with a 17-move miniature game against Giulio Simoni and started the event with a solid 3.5/5, but his most aesthetic highlight came in the seventh round when he sacrificed his queen against Albanian CM Klendi Zeneli.
The highlight of Rozman’s tournament was his final round match against Luxembourg-Italian GM David. After punishing David for playing the rare, hyper-modern English Defense, Rozman steamrolled his opponent’s kingside and pulled off a brilliant knight sacrifice that led to an instant win.
After the game, Rozman posted a recap in which he excitedly recounted one move after another, including an anecdote about accidentally knocking over pieces with a pen (27:15). In his final YouTube recap, Rozman also sent a strong message about his journey to becoming a GM, declaring, “I have no intention of quitting.”
Rozman addresses misogyny among viewers
Unfortunately, an online incident earlier in the tournament led to an announcement from Rozman, who had to speak out against the misogyny that occurred on stream during his fourth-round match with FM Liwia Jarocka.
In a summary titled “I’ve had enough of this,” Rozman condemned the unspecified comments: “There was a fundamental lack of respect for my opponent, for me, for the game of chess, and so on,” and further cited this behavior as “the reason why more women don’t play chess.”
The words of Rozman, the leading figure in online chess and a staunch advocate of equality in chess, should be heeded by all offenders: “Your behavior reflects badly on this channel and the chess community as a whole, so stop it.”
