FM Ethan Vaz of Goa played commendable chess and achieved his first IM Norm at the 29th Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival organized in Abu Dhabi from 16th to 24th of August, 2023.
At just 11 years of age, Geno Brand Ambassador Ethan was the youngest player to get an entry into the Masters (>2300 Elo) Tournament. With a starting rank of 134 amongst 145 players from 24 countries, of which as many as 142 were Titled Players, Ethan faced 9 strong opponents, including 3 GMs and 4 IMs, and scored 4.5 points of possible 9, with a remarkable Performance Rating of 2484.
Ethan (2306 Elo) won against IM Ajay Karthikayen (2450), IM Ravi Teja S (2450) and Amirreza Pour Agha Bala (2521), drew with GM Murzin Volodor (2631), IM Sanket Chakravarty (2385) and GM Swapnil S Dhopade (2479), and lost to IM Rathanvel V S (2491), GM Raymond Song (2512), and IM Al Muthaiah (2458).