2025 Cornerstone Holiday Norm Invitationals #2 - GM
10 players participated in this 9-round tournament, held from 31 Dec 2025 to 04 Jan 2026 in Sunnyvale, CA, United States. 10 titled players from 5 federations. Top 10 Elo average was 2384, and top seed was Joshua Sheng (🇺🇸 USA, GM, 2492).
Joshua Sheng (🇺🇸 USA, GM, 2492) won with 6.5/9, ahead of Azer Mirzoev (5.5) and Lucas Jiang (5.5). Sheng shared the lead from round 6 and won solo starting round 7.
The biggest upset came in round 4: Lucas Jiang (FM, 2256) beat Sohum Lohia (IM, 2410), a +154-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 10 · 9 roundsGM Joshua Sheng led from R7 onwards, the runner-up race stayed tight.
GM Azer Mirzoev takes the sole lead (3.5/5).
GM Joshua Sheng drew with GM Azer Mirzoev (White).
GM Joshua Sheng went unbeaten across 9 games (R1–R9).
Cross-table
| # | Player | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pts | SB | Bh | Δ Elo | Perf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇺🇸GMSheng, Joshua | 2492 | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 6.5 | 27.00 | 38.5 | +5.6 | 2538 |
| 2 | 🇦🇿GMMirzoev, Azer | 2471 | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 5.5 | 24.25 | 39.5 | -1.6 | 2454 |
| 3 | 🇺🇸FMJiang, Lucas | 2256 | ½ | 0 | * | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 5.5 | 22.75 | 39.5 | +53.4 | 2478 |
| 4 | 🇭🇺GMNagy, Gabor | 2444 | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 5.0 | 21.75 | 40.0 | -2.9 | 2420 |
| 5 | 🇬🇧IMLohia, Sohum | 2410 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.5 | 18.00 | 40.5 | -3.6 | 2381 |
| 6 | 🇺🇸WIMLi, Rachael | 2325 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | * | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 4.0 | 16.75 | 41.0 | +5.8 | 2347 |
| 8 | 🇺🇸IMLee, Alice | 2408 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | * | ½ | ½ | 0 | 3.5 | 17.00 | 41.5 | -13.2 | 2301 |
| 9 | 🇮🇳IMGauri, Shankar | 2400 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | 3.5 | 15.75 | 41.5 | -12.2 | 2302 |
| 10 | 🇺🇸FMAtwell, Rose | 2330 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | * | 0 | 3.5 | 15.50 | 41.5 | -5.6 | 2310 |
| 7 | 🇺🇸IMColville, Julian | 2301 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | * | 3.5 | 13.25 | 41.5 | +2.2 | 2313 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Jiang, LucasFMUSA+53.45.5 pts · #3
- 2Li, RachaelWIMUSA+5.84.0 pts · #6
- 3Sheng, JoshuaGMUSA+5.66.5 pts · #1
- 1Lee, AliceIMUSA-13.23.5 pts · #8
- 2Gauri, ShankarIMIND-12.23.5 pts · #9
- 3Atwell, RoseFMUSA-5.63.5 pts · #10
- R4+154 Elo gap
- R2+144 Elo gap
- R5+109 Elo gap