NAGPUR: A week after ending her 756-day wait to score her second WIM norm, Srishti Pandey cleared the third and final norm, and is set to become India's latest Women International Master, in Serbia, on Sunday.
The 2019 junior national champion now requires just 23.4 rating points to become city's third WIM after Divya Deshmukh and Mrudul Dehankar. Last month, Divya became country's latest Women Grand Master (WGM)
In Srishti's second successive international rating tournament in Serbia, the 20-year-old cleared her final WIM norm by scoring 4.5 points in nine rounds. According to the average rating (2275) of her opponents, she needed 4.5 points and Srishti completed the formality by winning three games and split the points in three rounds.
The 2066 Elo Srishti started as 41st seed and gave a performance rating of 2276 to earn the 26th position. She earned as many as 45.6 international rating points.
Earlier, on November 21, she had gained 65 Elo points and after a satisfactory show in back-to-back tournaments Srishti took her live rating to 2176.6. To become a WIM the player is required to clear three norms and touch a rating of 2200. Srishti is now 23.4 Elo points away from becoming WIM.
In her second successive attempt at the WIM title, Srishti surprised a couple of higher rated Grandmasters including Serbian Drazic Sinisa and fifth ranked American GM Alex Yermolinsky. She also defeated Kesidis Odyseas from Greece and drew three games against higher seeded compatriots including Isha Sharma, Rakshitta Ravi and Harshita Guddanti.
"It feels great to clear norms in back-to-back tournaments. Defeating two Grandmasters here boosted my confidence and now I am just 23 Elo points away from achieving my initial target," Srishti told TOI.
Srishti will have to wait for some months to become a WIM. Looking at the threat of travel restrictions, she has decided to head back home. Srishti will reach the city on Tuesday afternoon and after the situation normalizes, she plans to participate in some tournaments in Spain.
