Jon Ludvig Hammer

Not to be confused with John Hammer.
Jon Ludvig Hammer

Hammer at the 2007 Norwegian Championship at Hamar
Country Norway
Born 2 June 1990
Bergen
Title Grandmaster (2009)
FIDE rating 2665 (May 2015)
Peak rating 2649 (February 2015)

Jon Ludvig Nilssen Hammer (born 2 June 1990 in Bergen) is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster (GM). He completed all the requirements for the GM title in the beginning of 2009[1] and was awarded the title in March 2009.[2] He is the reigning Norwegian Chess Champion, having won the title in July 2013. Hammer was the main second for Magnus Carlsen in the World Chess Championship 2013.[3]

Chess career

Hammer's strong results at a fairly young age have marked him as among Norway's greatest chess talents, but his achievements have to some degree been overshadowed by Magnus Carlsen. In 2007, Hammer completed all requirements for the International Master title.

In the 38th Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Hammer represented Norway as the substitute player (number five on the team), played in all rounds except the first, and scored +4−2=4.[4]

Hammer gained his first GM norm in Cappelle la Grande in 2007, the second in Denmark in 2008, and a third in European Club Championship for teams later that year. The short length of those tournaments, however, meant he needed a fourth norm to gain the GM title.[5] This norm was achieved when Hammer won outright a jubilee tournament at Gjøvik arranged at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009. In the final round against Mateusz Bartel, Hammer would secure his Grandmaster title with a draw. In spite of this, he eschewed several opportunities for a perpetual check, and successfully took aim at sole first place.[6]

Hammer scored a 2792 rating performance on Norway's top board during the 2009 European Team Chess Championship in Novi Sad, where his +4−0=5 score made him one of the top individual scorers.[7]

In 2011, Hammer suffered setbacks in the "B" section of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, and the Aeroflot Open.[8] He rebounded with a good result in the Reykjavik Open, where he finished with 7/9, and in 5th place on tiebreaks. As the best Nordic player, Hammer became Norway's first Nordic Chess Champion since Simen Agdestein in 1992.[9]

Hammer won his first Norwegian Chess Championship in 2013 when he scored 7/9 (+5−0=4).[10] Hammer's best result until then had been the 2008 championship, when he finished equal on points with Frode Elsness, but he lost the September playoff to Elsness after losing the first game, and acquiescing to a draw in a worse position in the second.[11] In 2013/14, Hammer took a clear first place with 7½/9 in the Rilton Cup.[12]

Hammer attended the Norwegian sports academy Norwegian College of Elite Sport, and was coached by Agdestein. Hammer has been described as taking chess very seriously, playing very often online, in tournaments, or practicing.[1] In 2009, Hammer announced he would not pursue a professional chess career, and he now studies economics.[7]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hammer ble stormester NRK January 6, 2009 (Norwegian)
  2. ↑ Titles approved at the 1st Quarter Presidential Board 2009 fide.com
  3. ↑ "Her møtes de endelig etter det unike samarbeidet". NRK. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  4. ↑ Norwegian team line-up for 2008 Olympiad
  5. ↑ Gjøvik Chess Festival Profile on Jon Ludvig Hammer
  6. ↑ Gjøvik Chess Festival webpage
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "- Verdensstjernene kommer og sier hei" (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. 31 October 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
  8. ↑ Valaker, Ole (15 February 2011). "Bare jammer for Hammer" (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  9. ↑ Valaker, Ole (16 March 2011). "Ingen norske har klart det på 19 år" (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  10. ↑ "Landsturneringen NM i sjakk 2013". Tournamentservice. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  11. ↑ 35-åring tok sin første kongepokal Nettavisen, 26 September 2008 (Norwegian)
  12. ↑ "Rilton Cup 2013/2014". Chess-results.com. 5 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.

External links