Frode Olav Olsen Urkedal (born 14 May 1993) is a Norwegian chess player. He holds the title of Grandmaster, and is the 2012 and 2014 Norwegian champion. Urkedal began playing chess as an after-school activity at his school at Kjelsås, in northern Oslo. Urkedal won each of the age-restricted classes of the Norwegian championship in successive years from 2003 to 2006. In 2003 he won the ''Miniputt'' class with 8½ points out of 9, in 2004 he scored 6½ points in the ''Lilleputt'' class together with five other players but won the group due to his superior tiebreak score, in 2005 he won the Cadet class outright with 7½ points, and in 2006 he won the Junior championship after tying for first with 6½ points with three other players before winning the play-off for the junior title. In the 2009 World Youth Chess Championships, Urkedal finished in fifth place in the under-16 section scoring 8 points out of 11. This was Norway's second best result in the youth championship, only Magnus Carlsen's second place in the under-12 section in 2002 surpassed this. Urkedal achieved the title of FIDE Master in 2008. In January 2011 his performance in the Rilton Cup tournament in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

secured him the final

norm Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) consist of materials, usually industrial wastes or by-products enriched with radioactive elements found in the envir ...

needed for the title of

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

. In the 2012

Norwegian Chess Championship The Norwegian Chess Championship (NM i sjakk) is an annual tournament held in Norway during the month of July, in order to determine the national chess champion. The tournament is held at different venues each year as part of the ''Landsturnering' ...

, held in July in Sandefjord, Urkedal scored 7 points out of 9. He drew the pre-tournament favorites

Jon Ludvig Hammer Jon Ludvig Nilssen Hammer (born 2 June 1990) is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster (chess), grandmaster and three-time Norwegian Chess Champion. He was the main second for Magnus Carlsen in the World Chess Championship 2013. Chess career At the 38t ...

and Simen Agdestein, and lost only to

Espen Lie Espen Lie (born January 3, 1984) is a Norwegian chess player who currently holds the title of International Master, and was the Norwegian Chess Champion for 2007. He is the younger brother of GM Kjetil A. Lie. Lie plays for the chess club in Por ...

. Urkedal won the rest of his games, including a win over the defending champion

Berge Østenstad Berge Østenstad (born 15 September 1964) is a Norwegian chess player and Norway's sixth International Grandmaster. Østenstad plays for the chess club in Asker. He appears on the official FIDE rating list as "Ostenstad, Berge". , Østenstad has ...

in round 8. This result tied him for first with

, and a play-off was arranged in Fredrikstad in October to determine the champion. Urkedal won the first game, and was able to hold a draw from a shaky position in the second, thus securing him the title. Urkedal became the seventh teenager to accomplish this feat. Urkedal was awarded the title of Grandmaster in April 2016, having scored his final grandmaster norm at the Manacor tournament in Mallorca. In 2019 he won the Nordic Chess Championship and thanks to this victory Urkedal qualified to the FIDE World Cup. In 2019, he achieved 2nd place in the Australasian Masters GM tournament. Urkedal played for Norway in the Chess Olympiad in 2010 and 2012. He represents the chess club SK 1911 of Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urkedal, Frode Olav Olsen 1993 births Living people Chess grandmasters Norwegian chess players Sportspeople from Oslo