Maging Sino Ka Man: GM Torre & GM So Simul

Mrs. Maga

GM Eugene Torre

GM Wesley So

R5 So vs Harikrishna

R3 Murshed vs So

WHIZ KID WESLEY SO BOWS OUT

FILIPINO GRANDMASTER Wesley So failed to advance to the next round of the 2009 World Chess Cup as he bowed to Russian Super GM Vladimir Malakhov, 1-4, in the fourth round at the Khanty-Mansiysk Center of Arts in Russia, late Wednesday.

The 16-year-old So (ELO 2640), who twice held Malakhov (ELO 2706) to a draw during their classical time control, yielded to the Russian GM in three straight tie-break matches of rapid chess.

The 59^th-seed So bowed to the 22^nd-seeded Russian in 55 pushes handling the black pieces during their first tie-break match. This was followed by another win by Malakhov after 61 moves in the second match.

The Bacoor, Cavite pride So tried to fight back in the third game but Malakhov took advantage of the momentum to win in 32 moves.

Despite a shutout loss in the tie-break match, So will receive $30,000 (P1.41 million) prize money for reaching Round 4.

With the feat, Malakhov advanced to the fifth round or quarterfinals and will meet compatriot GM Peter Svidler (2754), who brought down last edition’s runner-up GM Alexei Shirov (2719) of Spain, 1.5-0.5, in their classical time control.

On the road to the fourth round or "Sweet 16," So stamped his class by booting out GMs Gadir Guseinov (2625) of Azerbaijan, Vassily Ivanchuk (2735, a perennial competitor in elite chess competitions) of Ukraine, and Gata Kamsky (2695, former World Championship challenger and WCC defending champion) of the United States, in that order.

So’s fourth-round finish is arguably the country’s best showing in World Chess Cup history, surpassing the efforts of his compatriots, GMs Rogelio Antonio Jr. , Darwin Laylo, Mark Paragua and Ronald Dableo who reached the second round of the competition.

GM Eugene Torre, Asia’s first GM, reached the quarterfinal stage under a different elimination format.

"I dream that sooner or later, I will come to the magical point 2700. I don’t know how much time I will need for that," he said.

In other fourth round results, GM Sergey Karjakin (2723) of Ukraine beat GM Nikita Vitiugov (2694) of Russia, 1.5-0.5; GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2719) walloped GM Viktor Laznicka (2637) of Czech Republic, 1-5.0-5; GM Boris Gelfand (2758) of Israel trounced GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2718) of France, 4.5-3.5; GM Dmitry Jakovenko (2736) of Russia defeated compatriot GM Alexander Grischuk (2736), 5-3; GM Vugar Gashimov (2758) of Azerbaijan nipped GM Fabiano Caruana (2652) of Italy, 3.5-1.5; and GM Ruslan Ponomariov (2739) of Ukraine edged GM Etienne Bacrot (2700) of France, 3.5-2.5. -- Marlon Bernardino

SENSATIONAL WESLEY

Chess Piece -- Bobby Ang

The FIDE World Chess Cup is taking place in the oil-boom town of Khanty-Mansiysk, in that general part of Russia we usually refer to as Siberia, from Nov. 20 up to Dec. 15, 2009. It is a seven-round knockout event comprising of 128 players with six rounds of matches comprising two games per round, with the winners progressing to the next round. The final seventh round consists of four games. The time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move from move one. Aside from the huge cash prizes, the winner of the World Chess Cup automatically qualifies for the Candidates’ match-tournament, from which the challenger to the world championship title will come from.

While the knockout format of the World Cup has been endlessly criticized in the chess media, the truth is that only the top-echelon players are complaining -- most of the chess world love the World Cup, as it gives the lesser-known players a chance to make a name for themselves as well as earn some good money.

In the 1999 FIDE World Championship (this became the World Cup later), Alexander Khalifman gave his career a second lease on life by winning all the marbles, and the appearance of new names Vladimir Akopian, Sergei Movsesian, and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (who upset two of the top seeds Ivanchuk and Shirov) were the big stories.

Next year was the turn of the unknown Alexander Grischuk to breakthrough into the world consciousness with a fantastic series of games to reach the semifinals.

This year, the sensation of the tournament is a Filipino, 16-year-old Wesley So. So sit tight and let me tell you the story from the very beginning, starting with Wesley’s first round match-up against GM Gadir Gusienov of Azerbaijan, rated 2625, just a tad lower than the Filipino’s 2640.

Gadir is certainly no pushover. He was born in 1986 and became a member of the Azerbaijan national team in 2002, participating in all of his country’s Olympiad or European Championship teams. His blitz rating of 3286 (!) in the Internet Chess Club also makes him among the top blitz practitioners of the world.

Game 1 was a one-sided positional crush by Wesley, who got an opening edge and did not let his opponent off the hook.

So, Wesley (2640) �“ Guseinov, Gadir (2625) [E90]

World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (1.1), 21.11.2009

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 0�“0 5.e4 d6 6.h3 c5 7.d5 e6 8.Bd3 exd5 9.exd5 Qe7+ 10.Be3 Bh6 11.0�“0 Bxe3 12.Qe2 Nbd7 13.Rae1 a6 14.Qxe3 Qxe3 15.Rxe3 b5 16.Nd2 [16.cxb5 Nb6! recovers the pawn with easy play] 16...Ne5 17.Be2 Nxc4 18.Bxc4 bxc4 19.Nxc4 Rd8 20.g4 Bb7 21.Rd1 h6 22.f4 (White’s advantage is becoming threatening. After dislodging the f6-knight he can double rooks on the e-file and establish a cramp on Black’s position) 22...Re8 23.Rxe8+ Nxe8 24.Ne4 Rd8 25.Rd3 Kf8 26.a4 Ke7 27.Re3 Kf8 28.Nb6 f5 29.gxf5 gxf5 30.Nc3 Nc7 31.a5 Kf7 32.Kf2 Bc8 33.Nc4 Ne8 34.Re1 Nf6 35.Rb1 Ke7 36.b4 cxb4 37.Rxb4 Bd7 38.Nb6 Rg8 39.Rb1 Kd8? 40.Nc4 Kc7? 41.Rb6 (winning a crucial pawn and the game) 41...h5 42.Rxd6 Ne4+ 43.Nxe4 fxe4 44.Rxa6 Bxh3 45.Ra7+ Kb8 46.Rh7 Rc8 47.Ne5 Rc3 48.a6 e3+ 49.Ke2 Ra3 50.a7+! Ka8 [50...Rxa7 51.Nc6+] 51.Rxh5 1�“0

Guseinov threw caution to the winds in game 2 and managed to cash in when Wesley erred just before reaching the time control at move 40.

Guseinov, Gadir (2625) �“ So, Wesley (2640) [C07]

World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (1.2), 22.11.2009

1.e4 e6 (A surprise. Till now Wesley had been a strict Sicilian player when facing 1.e4) 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Bb5 Bd7 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3 Bd6 9.Qe2 Qc7 10.Nf3 dxe4 11.Qxe4 Nf6 12.Qh4 (I don’t like this line for Black -- his opponent gets freer play at no material investment) 12...h6 13.0�“0 c5 14.Bg5 Nd5 15.Be4 Rb8 16.c4 Nf4 17.Rfd1 Rxb2 18.Kf1 (Threatening Rxd6, which was not playable previously because of the zwischenzug ...Ne2+) 18...Rf8 19.Rxd6 hxg5 20.Rxd7 Qxd7 21.Qxg5 f5 22.Qxf4 fxe4 23.Qxe4 Rf6 24.Re1 (black has already weathered the storm but still needs to be careful as his king is exposed) 24...Qb7 25.Qh7 Qf7 26.Qh8+ Qf8 27.Qh5+ Kd8 28.Qe5 Rb6 29.Rd1+ Kc8 30.Qe4 Kc7 31.Qe3 Rf4 32.Qc3 Kc8 33.Qd3 Qe7 34.h4 Rb7 35.Re1 Rb4 36.Kg1 Qd7 37.Qa3 Kb7 38.Qe3 Qd6 39.Ne5 Qd4 40.Qg3 Qd2?? [The position is not so easy to hold, what with threats of Nd3 and Qxg7+, but probably 40...Kc8! will hold. After 41.Nd3 Rxh4 42.Nxb4 cxb4 White is still better but as they say all rook endings are drawn] 41.Nd3 Rd4 42.Qxg7+ Ka8 43.Qf8+ Kb7 44.Nxc5+ [44.Nxc5+ Kc7 (44...Kc6 45.Qc8+ Kb6 46.Qb7+ Kxc5 47.Qc7#; 44...Kb6 45.Qb8+ Kxc5 46.Qc7#) 45.Nxe6+ Kc6 46.Qc8+ Kb6 47.Qc7+ Ka6 48.Nc5#] 1�“0

As per the rules of the competition, in case the match is tied after two regular games, then four tie-break games will be played, with a time control of 25 minutes for each player with an addition of 10 seconds after each move.

In the first tie-break game Wesley once again essayed the French Defense, but this time quickly took the initiative in a queenless endgame and completely outclassed Guseinov.

Guseinov, Gadir (2625) �“ So, Wesley (2640) [C05]

World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (1.3), 23.11.2009

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.Bd3 c5 5.dxc5 dxe4 6.Nxe4 Nxe4 7.Bxe4 Qxd1+ 8.Kxd1 Bxc5 9.Ke2 Nd7 10.Nf3 Nf6 11.Bd3 b6 12.Bb5+ Ke7 13.Ne5 Bb7 14.f3 a6 15.Ba4 b5 16.Bb3 Bd6 17.Nd3 Rac8 18.c3 a5 19.a3 Rhd8 20.Be3 Nd5 21.Bd4 g5! 22.Rac1 (Not really a mistake, but a clear sign that he is understimating Black’s kingside pawn demonstration. Maybe best here is 22.h4) 22...h5 23.g3 h4 24.gxh4 gxh4 25.Bf2 Rh8 26.h3 Rh5 27.Bd4? [White has to play 27.Rhg1 ] 27...Rg8 28.Rcg1 Rg3! 29.Bxd5 Bxd5 30.Ne1 Rf5 31.Bf2? (Another mistake, and this one leads to a surprisingly quick decision) 31...Bc4+ 32.Kd2 Rd5+ 33.Kc1 Bf4+ 34.Kc2 Rd2+ 0�“1

The second game was even more one-sided. Wesley met Guseinov’s Pirc with the Austrian Attack and just made it look like a forced win.

So,Wesley (2640) - Guseinov,Gadir (2625) [B06]

World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (1.4), 23.11.2009

1.d4 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.f4 c6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Bd3 Bg4 7.e5 Nd5 8.Nxd5 cxd5 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Qxf3 e6 11.c3N Nc6 12.0�“0 0�“0 13.Be3 f6 14.exf6 Qxf6 15.Rae1 (In his book on "The Ultimate Pirc" GM John Nunn ends his analysis at this point and comments that this is the game Mortensen vs Titov from the Debrecen European Championship 1992, and that White has the edge. Wesley So proves the assessment right) 15...Rae8 16.Qg4 a6 17.h4 Ne7 18.h5 Nf5 19.Bd2 gxh5 20.Qxh5 Qh4? (Guseinov wants to get the queens off the board to fend off any kingside attack, but he has assessed the resulting position incorrectly and White’s position becomes easy to play. 20...Qg6 is better) 21.Qxh4 Nxh4 22.g3 Nf5 23.Kg2 (You may find this hard to believe, but white’s position is already close to winning) 23...Re7 24.Rh1 Nh6 25.Rh5 Ree8 26.g4! Kf7 27.Kg3 Ng8 [27...Rh8 28.Reh1 is no good either] 28.Rxh7 Nf6 29.Rhh1 Rh8 30.Rxh8 Rxh8 31.f5 e5 [31...exf5 32.Bxf5 b5 33.Rf1 the f-file becomes the new avenue of operations for white] 32.dxe5 dxe5 33.g5 [33.Rxe5? Nh5+] 33...Nd7 34.f6 Bf8 35.Bf5 Nb6 36.Rxe5 (White can give up the exchange as his two passed pawns supported by the two bishops is much too powerful for Black’s scattered forces) 36...Bd6 37.Bf4 Bxe5 38.Bxe5 Rg8 39.Kf4 Nc4 40.Bd4 Nxb2 41.Bg4 Nc4 42.Bh5+ Ke6 43.f7 Rf8 44.g6 Nd6 45.Bg4+ Ke7 46.Bc5 1�“0

After this second consecutive win Wesley needed only a draw to qualify for the next round. Instead a furious counter-attack decided the match in his favor for a clean 3-0 sweep.

Guseinov, Gadir (2625) �“ So, Wesley (2640) [B47]

World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (1.5), 23.11.2009

1.e4 c5

Back to the tried and true.

2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.g3 Nf6 7.Bg2 a6 8.0�“0 Be7 9.Be3 0�“0 10.f4 d6 11.Kh1 Bd7 12.Nb3

Guseinov has already adopted this formation against the Sicilian Scheveningen several times, so it is quite possible Wesley has a prepared line.

12...b5 13.a3 b4 14.axb4 Nxb4 15.g4 h6 16.Nd4 Rab8 17.h4

Storm clouds in the kingside. Who would think that it is Black who will get in his attack first?

17...h5! 18.gxh5

Not 18.g5 Ng4.

18...Rfc8 19.Bf3

[19.h6!]

19...e5! 20.fxe5

[20.Nb3 d5!]

20...dxe5 21.Nf5 Bxf5 22.exf5 e4! 23.Bg2 Qg3 24.Bf2 Qe5 25.Bg1 Bd6 26.Rc1 Rc4 27.Qe2 Rbc8 28.Qe3 Nxh5 29.Ne2 Rxc2 30.Rxc2 Rxc2 31.Qg5 Rxe2 32.Qxh5


And now one final blow to force capitulation. 32...Rxg2! [32...Rxg2 33.Kxg2 Qg3+ 34.Kh1 Qh3+ 35.Bh2 Qxh2#] 0�“1

Next we will discuss Wesley’s match with chess legend Vassily Ivanchuk. Beg, borrow or steal, but make sure to get your copy of BusinessWorld on Monday!

Reader comments/suggestions are solicited. Email address is bangcpa@gmail.com

WCC : ELITE ROUND

RP’s So makes elite 4th rd of World Chess Cup
11/29/2009 | 01:27 PM
GMA News.TV

KHANTY-Mansiysk, Russia - GM Wesley So of the Philippines added defending champion GM Gata Kamsky of the US to his list of world-class victims, claiming a decisive 1.5-.5 triumph in their third-round showdown in the 2009 World Chess Cup at the Khanty-Mansiysk Center of Arts Saturday night.

In a fitting follow-up to his equally-shocking 1.5-.5 upset win over former world championship finalist GM Vassily Ivanchuk of Russia in the second round, the 16-year-old So avoided unnecessary risk with the white pieces and finished off Kamsky with a draw in 42 moves of the Dutch defense.

Wesley So
The multi-awarded Filipino champion from Bacoor, Cavite, who is expected to breach the super GM ELO 2700 mark at the end of the year, held a slight initiative in a rook and bishop ending when he accepted Kamsky's offer to split the point.

When the game was agreed drawn, So and Kamsky had a rook, bishop and four pawns each.

So, who shocked Kamsky in the opener of their two-game third round showdown Friday, thus earned the right to advance to the 16-player fourth round against the winner of the match between GMs Pavel Eljanov of Ukraine and Vladimir Malakhov of Russia.

The 11th-seeded Eljanov (ELO 2729) and the No. 22 Malakhov (ELO 2706), who drew their first two games, are set to play rapid tiebreak matches Sunday night.

"I'm really happy to have played well against Kamsky. But I really spend a lot of time for preparations against every single opponent. I know that even if they are already super GMs, they can also make mistakes," So told the official website of the World Cup.

"I just hope I can sustain my momentum," added So, who hardly showed any sign of the ill effects of the cool minus-30 weather condition in this scenic Western Siberian town patterned after the world-class Scandinavian resorts.

Kamsky, who lost to GM Anatoly Karpov in the 1997 World Championship, said So clearly deserved the victory.

"It is clear that my opponent (So) was better prepared. I was thinking that I could win against this player with my experience. But sadly, my opponent was not that easy to beat, as I was expecting. He turned out to be a very serious player," said Kamsky, who played the top board for the United States during the World Chess Olympiad in Turin in 2006 and Dresden in 2008.

I'm really happy to have played well against Kamsky. But I really spend a lot of time for preparations against every single opponent. I know that even if they are already super GMs, they can also make mistakes.
–Grandmaster Wesley So
"I was always choosing the wrong openings. Everything was decided in the first game. I played recklessly and got the problematic position. In the second game, I had to solve a difficult problem. But it is almost impossible to beat a good player with black," added the Russian-born Kamsky.

"I played the Dutch defense, sacrificed a pawn and got some chances. But at one point, I went too far and the advantages for my opponent were clear enough and I offered a draw so as not to suffer."

Sharing the limelight with So on the eighth day of competition was former women's world champion Judit Polgar, who shocked top seed GM Boris Gelfand of Israel to level the score in their third-round showdown.

Polgar, one of only three female participants in the 126-player field, capitalized on Gelfand's misplaced pieces on the board and launched a relentless attack against the Russian-born Israeli player to prevail.

Also advancing to the fourth were GM Alexei Shirov of Spain, who crushed GM Evgeny Tomashevsky of Russia, 1.5-.5; GM Ruslan Ponomariv of Ukraine, who subdued GM Alexander Motyloev of Russia, 1.5-.5; GM Nikita Vitiugov of Russia, who eliminated GM Konstantin Sakaev of Russia, 1.5-.5; GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan, who nipped GM Wang Hao of China, 1.5-.5; and GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, who ousted GM Yu Yangyi of China, 1.5-.5.

GMs Sergey Karjakin and Alexander Areschenko, both of Ukraine, recovered from a first-game loss to equalize their match scores against David Navara of the Czech Republic and Dmitry Jakovenko of Russia, respectively. - GMANews.TV

WCC: 3rd ROUND KNOCK OUT

Wesley So scalped his second Super GM and knocked Kamsky out of the tournament

www.ugra-chess.ru

The World Cup 2009 is experiencing an irreplaceable loss – the young Wesley So from the Philippines made a draw in the second game of Round 2 and knocked out the last World Cup winner, Gata Kamsky. “Everything was decided in the first game. At one point I was hoping that I could win against this player with my experience, - said Gata after the match. – But sadly, my opponent was not that easy to beat, as I was expecting.”

It is obvious: a new fantastic “gold nugget” has been found in Khanty Mansiysk now. Most probably in the nearest future, he will aspire for a place among the chess elite. And this is clear: no one from the high-class favourites can defeat him here. “The fact that Wesley So was born and grew up in a non-chess country, the Philippines , speaks about his fantastic talent,” – says the commentator of the Cup GM Sergey Shipov. To make the picture clear, we should also mention that he is practically self-educated and very enthusiastic. He has no coach and no financial support from the Government.

Judit Polgar played an excellent game against the rating favourite of the World Cup, Boris Gelfand. “The chess program was trying to find some defense for black but the solutions it offered, were too hard to realize for a human being,” – says Shipov. “Gelfand made one main mistake: he positioned pieces far from the king. He forgot how dangerous Judit could be in her attacks”. Bravo, Judit! To recover a from a loss in the first game against the tough Israeli player is a big feat.

The Ukrainian/Russian Sergey Karjakin and the Ukrainian Alexander Areschenko also recovered from a first game loss to equalize their match scores against David Navara from the Czech Republic and Dmitry Jakovenko of Russia, respectively.

Alexey Shirov managed to stop the marvelous series of 58 games without a loss, of the Russian Chess Champion Evgeny Tomashevsky. “The analysis of my loss of this game could make it clear: I should not play in the Cup,” – ironically mentioned Evgeny. “It could happen to anyone. It is a pity that my story stopped such ingloriously”.

Another series have been stopped at the Cup – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov made his first draw after five wins. Still it did not affect his qualification to the next Round.

WCC R3 G1: So strikes again – beats Kamsky

ChessBase.com

Kamsky,G (2695) - So,W (2640) [C11]
World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (3.1), 27.11.2009

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Qb6 8.a3 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bc5 10.Na4 Qa5+ 11.c3 Bxd4 12.Bxd4 Nxd4 13.Qxd4 b6 14.Be2 Ba6 15.Bd1 Qb5 16.b4 Rc8 17.Nb2 Qc6 18.Rc1 0-0. The predecessor game went 18...f6 19.exf6 Nxf6 20.Bf3 0-0 21.c4 Qd7 22.a4 Bxc4 23.Nxc4 Qxa4 24.0-0 Qxb4 25.Be2 dxc4 26.Bxc4 Kh8 27.Qd3 Qc5+ 28.Kh1 b5 0-1 Gueroff,E-Jackelen,T (2325)/Germany 1988/GER-chT2. We are told that Kamsky offered a draw in this position, but So played on. Good nerves this kid has.

19.a4 Bc4 20.Bg4 Bb3 21.0-0 Bxa4

The first key moment: Kamsky somewhat surprisingly does not take on a4: 22.f5 [22.Nxa4 Qxa4 23.Ra1 and 24.Rxa7 was the obvious alternative]

22...Bb5 23.Rfe1 Rfe8 24.Re3 f6 25.fxe6 Nxe5 26.Bf5 g6 27.Bh3 Qd6 28.Rd1 Rcd8 29.Rd2 Qe7 30.Rf2 Nc6 31.Qd2

31...d4! 32.Re4 dxc3 33.Qxc3 Rf8 34.g4 Rd6 35.Bg2 Ne5 36.g5 Rxe6 37.gxf6 Rfxf6. Now young Wesley is two pawns up and rides in the full point without too much difficulty.

38.Rxf6 Qxf6 39.Re3 Bc6 40.Nd1 Qg5 41.Rg3 Qf4 42.Nf2 Bxg2 43.Kxg2 Nc4 44.Qd3 Ne3+ 45.Kg1 Nf5 46.Qd5 Qc1+ 47.Nd1 Kf7 48.Rc3 Qg5+ 49.Kf2 Qf4+ 50.Kg2 Qg4+ 51.Kf2 Qe2+ 52.Kg1 Qe1+ 53.Kg2 Kg7 0-1.

World Cup R2: Svidler, Radjabov, Ivanchuk, Morozevich lose

from Chessbase.com

One of the most experienced GM in this event, and one of the highest ranked, met with a youthful GM from the Philippines – Wesley So, who turned sixteen just a few weeks ago.

Ivanchuk,V (2739) - So,W (2640) [C15]
World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (2.1), 24.11.2009
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.exd5 exd5 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.Nge2 0-0 7.0-0 Bg4 8.f3 Bh5 9.Nf4 Bg6 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.Bg5 c6 12.f4 Qb6

13.Na4!? Qxd4+ 14.Kh1 Ne4 15.c3 Nf2+ 16.Rxf2 Qxf2 17.cxb4 f6 18.Qg4 fxg5 19.Qe6+ Kh8 20.Nc5 Qxb2 21.Qh3+ Kg8 22.Qe6+ Kh8 23.Rf1 Qf6 24.Qh3+ Kg8

Most of the continuation after the first diagram was pretty much forced. Now White, who is an exchange and pawn down for the attack, has 25.Ne4 dxe4 26.Bc4+ Rf7 27.Qc8+ Kh7 28.Qh3+ with perpetual. But Ivanchuk wants more and tries something daring: 25.g3?! Re8 26.Nxb7 gxf4 27.Rxf4 Re1+ 28.Kg2 Qe6 29.Qxe6+ Rxe6 30.Nc5 Re7 31.b5 Nd7 32.Nxd7 Rxd7 33.bxc6 Rd6 34.Bb5 Re8 35.Rd4. White remains an exchange down and young Wesley So goes on to take the full point. 35...Kf7 36.Rf4+ Ke6 37.Rg4 Ke5 38.Kf3 Rf6+ 39.Ke3 0-1. Ivanchuk has his work cut out for him on Wednesday's second encounter.

WCC 2009: So enters 2nd Round

from ABC-CBN News.com

Filipino chess sensation Wesley So advanced to the second round of the ongoing World Chess Cup in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia after outclassing his Azerbaijan foe.

According to FIDE.com, the 16-year-old Filipino Grandmaster outpointed Azerbaijan's GM Gadir Guseinov, 4-1, in the tie break games of the qualifier in the World Chess Championship 2011.

He will face GM Vasily Ivanchuk of Ukraine, who defeated Russia's GM Alexie Bezgodov, 2-0, in the first round.

So, who has an ELO rating of 2640, is expected to have a tough fight against the Ukrainian, who is currently ranked 12th in the world with an ELO rating of 2739.

The teenage wood pusher from Bacoor, Cavite, now ranked in the world as Number 7 among junior players, is the lone Filipino who survived the first round.

GM Rogelio “Joey” Antonio, Jr. bowed to World Chess Cup defending champ GM Gata Kamsky of the US after two matches in Round 1, 1.5-0.5.

GM Darwin Laylo also suffered the same fate against Czech GM David Navara, 4-2.

The three Filipino wood pushers, backed up by NCFP president Prospero "Butch" Pichay Jr. and PSC chairman Harry Angping, already has a guaranteed $6,000 for making it to the 128 players field main draw.

The winner of this year’s World Chess Cup, which will end on december 15, will compete in the World Chess Championship 2011.

WORLD CUP: R1 G4 WESLEY SO

[Event "World Cup"][Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"]
[Date "2009.11.23"][Round "1.4"]
[White "W So"]
[Black "G Guseinov"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "2640"]
[BlackElo "2625"]

1. d4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. f4 c6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Bd3 Bg4 7. e5 Nd5 8.
Nxd5 cxd5 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 e6 11. c3 Nc6 12. O-O O-O 13. Be3 f6 14. exf6
Qxf6 15. Rae1 Rae8 16. Qg4 a6 17. h4 Ne7 18. h5 Nf5 19. Bd2 gxh5 20. Qxh5
Qh4 21. Qxh4 Nxh4 22. g3 Nf5 23. Kg2 Re7 24. Rh1 Nh6 25. Rh5 Ree8 26. g4
Kf7 27. Kg3 Ng8 28. Rxh7 Nf6 29. Rhh1 Rh8 30. Rxh8 Rxh8 31. f5 e5 32. dxe5
dxe5 33. g5 Nd7 34. f6 Bf8 35. Bf5 Nb6 36. Rxe5 Bd6 37. Bf4 Bxe5 38. Bxe5
Rg8 39. Kf4 Nc4 40. Bd4 Nxb2 41. Bg4 Nc4 42. Bh5+ Ke6 43. f7 Rf8 44. g6 Nd6
45. Bg4+ Ke7 46. Bc5 1-0

WORLD CUP: R1 G2 WESLEY SO

[Event "World Cup"][Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"]
[Date "2009.11.22"][Round "1.2"]
[White "G Guseinov"]
[Black "W So"]
[ECO "C07"]
[WhiteElo "2625"]
[BlackElo "2640"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. Nxc6
bxc6 8. Bd3 Bd6 9. Qe2 Qc7 10. Nf3 dxe4 11. Qxe4 Nf6 12. Qh4 h6 13. O-O c5
14. Bg5 Nd5 15. Be4 Rb8 16. c4 Nf4 17. Rfd1 Rxb2 18. Kf1 Rf8 19. Rxd6 hxg5
20. Rxd7 Qxd7 21. Qxg5 f5 22. Qxf4 fxe4 23. Qxe4 Rf6 24. Re1 Qb7 25. Qh7
Qf7 26. Qh8+ Qf8 27. Qh5+ Kd8 28. Qe5 Rb6 29. Rd1+ Kc8 30. Qe4 Kc7 31. Qe3
Rf4 32. Qc3 Kc8 33. Qd3 Qe7 34. h4 Rb7 35. Re1 Rb4 36. Kg1 Qd7 37. Qa3 Kb7
38. Qe3 Qd6 39. Ne5 Qd4 40. Qg3 Qd2 41. Nd3 Rd4 42. Qxg7+ Ka8 43. Qf8+ Kb7
44. Nxc5+ 1-0

WESLEY'S FAVORITE

SICILIAN: GM WESLEY IN CHINA

FRENCH: SO vs GOMEZ

SLAV: TORRE vs SO

ABS CBN NEWS: SO WINS BATTLE FOR 2ND TIME

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 04/01/2009 12:54 AM

Wesley So formalized his title conquest in this year’s Battle of the GMs by beating fellow Grandmaster Darwin Laylo in the 11th and final round at the Pavilion Hotel in Zamboanga del Norte province Tuesday.

The 15-year-old So, who also won last year's edition, defeated Laylo in 51 moves of the center counter.

So, adjudged as the best junior player in the Aeroflot Chess tournament in Russia, capped his campaign with 18 points on seven wins and four draws to pocket the P200,000 top prize.

Meanwhile, GM Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr. scored second place with 14 points following his draw with GM Eugene Torre (13 points) in the final round.

Antonio, who recently scored a string of victories in the US circuit, went home with the P100,000 second prize while Asia’s first GM Torre settled for P80,000.

GMs Mark Paragua and John Paul Gomez were tied with 12 points followed by GM Darwin Laylo with 11.5.

In last year's Battle of GMs, which was staged at the Citystate Hotel, Manila, So edged Torre by a point with 8.5.

The Battle of GMs was organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines.

INQUIRER: WESLEY SO WINS BATTLE OF GMs

By Roy Luarca
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:51:00 04/01/2009

Final standings:
MEN: 18.0—W. So; 14.0—R. Antonio; 13.0—E. Torre; 12.0—M. Paragua, J. Gomez; 11.5—D. Laylo; 11.0—J. Sadorra, R. Bitoon; 9.0—R. Nolte; 8.0—J. Gonzales; 6.5—B. Villamayor; 6.0—R. Dableo

WOMEN: 17.0—Shercila Cua; 16.5—B. Mendoza; 15.0—Sherily Cua; 14.0—J. Fronda, C. Bernales; 12.0—D. Rivera; 11.0—L. Cuison; 9.0—K. Cunanan; 8.0—C. Perena; 5.0—J. Docena; 4.0—R. Young

DAPITAN CITY—A big gap exists between Wesley So and the rest of the field in the Battle of Grandmasters here.

Already beyond reach, So capped his successful title-retention campaign with a victory over fellow GM Darwin Laylo in the 11th and final round Tuesday night at the Dapitan City Resort Hotel.

His seventh win against four draws gave So a runaway total of 18 points, four up on second placer GM Rogelio “Joey” Antonio, who drew with GM Eugene Torre after 31 moves of a Bogo Indian.

So, an incoming high school senior at St. Francis-Cavite, led from start to finish to win the P200,000 champion’s purse.

Starting hot, So hurdled GM Buenaventura Villamayor, GM John Paul Gomez, Torre, IM Rolando Nolte and GM Jayson Gonzales before being held to a draw by Antonio in the sixth round.

The 15-year-old So, Group C champion of this year’s Corus Chess Tournament in the Netherlands, then coasted along with successive draws against GM Mark Paragua, IM Julio Catalino Sadorra and IM Richard Bitoon.

Antonio bagged the runner-up purse of P100,000, with Torre pocketing P80,000 for finishing third with 13 points.

Other final-round matches saw Paragua subdue Sadorra in 41 moves of a French Defense and Gomez and Nolte agreeing to a truce after 37 of a Sicilian.

With 12 points each, Paragua and Gomez tied for fourth and won P50,000 each in the tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and supported by Phoenix Petroleum and the Dapitan City council through Mayor Dominador Jalosjos Jr.

In women’s play, FIDE Master Shercila Cua pounced on an endgame blunder by WNM Rulp Ylem Jose to prevail in 79 moves of an English Opening to snatch the title from WIM Beverly Mendoza, who temporarily held the reign when she bested WNM Jedara Docena in 28 moves of a Vienna Opening.

Shercila, an economics graduate from University of Santo Tomas, won P60,000.

CHESSDOM: R6 WESLEY SO

Sanan Sjugirov - Wesley So

Round 6
Aeroflot 2009
Moscow

Welcome to the round 6 live commentary of Aeroflot open on Chessdom.com! Today we are going to see yet another battle of the young GMs as Sanan Sjugirov (photo here) and Wesley So meet on the board.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Sicilian Taimanov!

5... Qc7 6.g3 a6 7.Bg2 Nf6 8.O-O Be7 Not the most common opening for Wesley So, while Sanan Sjugirov has played this against Ivan Popov in the Russian U20 championships with success. Some of the experienced players in this opening are Mikhail Tal, Ulf Andersson, and of course Mark Taimanov. Spassky also used it against FIsher in their 1972 match to win with black.

9.Re1 O-O 10.Nxc6 dxc6 11.e5 Rd8 12.Qf3 Nd5 13.h4 Nxc3 Sjugirov and Wesley So are moving very quickly, obviously still in home preparation

14.Qxc3 h6 Wesley So plays a long termdefensive move and lets Sanan Sjugirov choose the direction of the game. Many options ahead of white here, they can develop the white bishop or improve the positionof the queen.

15.Be3 c5 Bringing any of the rooks to d1 is good. Interesting idea here is 16. b4, black pawn will obviously have to stay on the position and a fight over the black squares will start.

16.b4 Bd7 Aquick line of exchanges 17.Bxc5 Rac8 18.Qe3 Bxc5 19.bxc5 Qxc5 20.Bxb7 brings advantage to white, but with coordinated activity black can also encounter a draw. On the other hand if bxc5 black is not obliged to take back immediatelly as the pawn is weak and can fall any time.

17.bxc5 Bc6 18.Bxc6 Qxc6 19.Red1 Rac8 all lines converge to a draw, it is very difficult the game to go in another direction

20.Rab1 b6 21.Qc4 Rxd1 22.Rxd1 taking on c5 brings complete equality.

22... Bxc5 23.Bxc5 And a draw was agreed. A solid opening from both players that after a series of exchanges led to the most logical result of the day. Thank you for following with Chessdom.com! 1/2-1/2

CHESSDOM: R9 WESLEY SO

Wesley So - Zaven Andriasian

Round 9
Aeroflot 2009
Moscow

Welcome to the final round of the Aeroflot chess tournament. Today games start a few hours earlier, so that there is time for the closing ceremony.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 One more time, the preffered opening of Wesley So is the Sicilian defence

3.Bb5 g6 Rossolimo Variation, also known as Nimzovich-Rossolimo attack

4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.O-O Bg7 6.Re1 Standart continuations for black are Nh6, Nf6, and e5. An interesting start of the game, but what is really amazing in this last round of Aeroflot is the number of quick draws. Van Wely - Onischuk, Ehlvest - Amonatov, Wen - Smirin, Dyachkov - Dreev, all finished in under 12 moves. Maybe it is time for tournaments to consider Sofia rule or a similar alternative?

6... Nf6 7.e5 Forcing Nd5. This line has statistically very good success for white.

7... Nd5 8.c4 Nc7 9.d4 cxd4 10.Qxd4 After this semi forced sequence of moves that keeps the balance on the board, black have to choose the continuation between O-O, d5, Ne6 or even d6 is possible

10... O-O 11. Qh4 is the top choice reply for white

11.Qh4 f6 f6 is statistically the best move for black. Rizantsev - Yudin and Zhigalko - Potkin join the draw party.

12.Nc3 g5 13.Qh5 d6 14.exf6 exf6 15.Be3 Wesley So invites Andriasian to debilitate the center by provoking 15...c5 or for an "a" pawn advance for black in order to free the rook

15... Qe8 16.Qxe8 Rxe8 17.Rad1 Bf8 Providing future bishop acticity while keeping the pawn structure on the kingside. 18. Nd4 will be another invitation to move things on the queenside, it will be met by Bd7.

18.Nd4 Bd7 19.f3 Kf7 Andriasian will look for an exchange of material or counterplay on the e file and later bishop pair activity.

20.Kf2 h6 with plans for f5-f4 advance. The idea is countered by h3.

21.h4 With a similar idea, but sacrificing temporarily a pawn in order to mess up even more black's pawn structure.

21... Rab8 22.b3 a5 23.Nde2 Be6 24.hxg5 hxg5 25.f4 is it time for counter play with 25... d5?

25... d5 Andriasian gives it a try. This will activate the bishop pair and will open up the queenside. The more open space, the stronger the bishops will be. Wesley So can still continue with his plan taking on g5.

26.fxg5 dxc4 27.Bf4 Rb7 28.Ne4 Dangerous attack by white, black have to defend carefully. The knight will have a stable position on f6, while a rook can enter the back ranks through a Re1-Rh1-Rh7 maneuver. It is a dynamic position where with precise play black have defence, brave decision by Wesley So to attack with the coming time trouble for him.

28... cxb3 29.Nxf6 Rc8 Escapes the threat and provides protection for the bishop.

30.axb3 Nd5 31.Nxd5 Bxd5 32.Nd4 Bc5 The players are blitzing in time trouble, with the activity of black pieces now it is impossible for white to achieve a full point, if Andriasian plays correctly he can turn things around.

33.Be3 Bxd4 However, he also goes for a probable draw, as opposite color bishops will stay on the board

34.Rxd4 Rb4 And a draw is agreed. Good game by both players where white played aggressively to explore the weaknesses in the pawn structure, while black patience was rewarded and he equalized the position. Thank you for following Aeroflot 2009 with Chessdom.com, stay tuned for full report later tonight. 1/2-1/2