It looks like Wesley So is bent on breaking all Philippine chess records (the good ones only – some other titled players are taking care of the bad ones). Already the Philippines’ youngest ever Olympian at 12 years of age, youngest ever International Master at 13, and now he enters the record books once again as the youngest ever Philippine champion at 13.
Do you know whose record Wesley broke?
Ramon Lontoc, Jr. was born on August 27, 1917. At the age of 5 he learned the rudiments of the game from his father and elder brothers who were themselves strong players. In 1925, at the age of 8 (!!), he was crowned National Junior Champion. In 1931 he won the Metropolitan Championship, the unofficial Philippine championship and later that year he defeated the reigning national titlist, Adolfo Gutierrez in an official challenge match with the score of 4-2 and 6 draws to become champion at 14. In 1932 he drew his game (this was in consultation with Dr. Ariel Mencarini, but it is acknowledged that Lontoc was the one calling the shots) with Dr. Alexander Alekhine in a simultaneous blindfold exhibition during the world champion’s visit to Manila.
Lontoc was to win the national crown seven more times and, at the age of 57, came back from retirement to qualify for the “dream team” (Eugene Torre, Rodolfo Tan Cardoso, Renato Naranja, Rosendo Balinas Jr., Ramon Lontoc, Jr., and Glenn Bordonada) to the 1974 Nice Olympiad. This was the high point of Philippine chess, for in the Olympiad the Philippines made history: it placed 11th, defeated powerful chess squads from Hungary and Czechoslovakia and Eugene Torre got his grandmaster title – he was also silver medalist on top board, second only to Anatoly Karpov.
2nd Cong. Prospero A. Pichay Cup
National Open Chess Championship
December 2006
1 IM Wesley So, 7.5/9
2 IM Ronald Dableo, 7.0/9
3-9 IM Darwin Laylo, GM Mark Paragua, IM Oliver Dimakiling, GM Nelson Mariano, Julius Joseph de Ramos, IM Yves Ranola, Oliver Barbosa, 6.5/9
10-15 John Paul Gomez, Jan Emmanuel Garcia, FM Fernie Donguines, IM Barlo Nadera, Jerome Balico, IM Jayson Gonzales, 6.0/9
16-25 Rhobel Legaspi, IM Richard Bitoon, Arlan Cabe, Emmanuel Senador, IM Petronio Roca, Efren Bagamasbad, Adrian Pacis, IM Chito Garma, Rolando Nolte, FM Mirabeau Maga, 5.5/9
Total of 80 players
Here is Wesley’s last round game against Richard Bitoon which sealed the title for him.
So,Wesley (2411) - Bitoon,Richard (2433) [B42]
Pichay Cup National Op SM Manila (9), 12.2006
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Ne7 6.Nc3
GM John Emms thinks that 6.0–0 is more accurate here so as to answer 6...Nec6 with 7.c3 but I think it is only a matter of taste. Some people don't like to dabble with positional subtleties and prefer to go straight for the throat, people like Wesley So.
6...Nec6 7.Nb3 Be7 8.0–0
The recommended line in "Beating the Sicilian 3" against Black's Sicilian Kan formation is 8.Qh5! d6 9.Be3 Nd7 10.f4 b5 11.0–0–0 b4?! 12.Na4! e5 13.f5 0–0 14.g4! and White has an automatic attack. This is Mikhalchishin,A (2465)-Dorfman,J (2540)/ Lvov 1983 1–0 (45).
8...0–0 9.f4 d6 10.Qf3 Nd7 11.Bd2 Nc5 12.Nxc5 dxc5 13.Be3 b5 14.e5 Qc7 15.Ne4
The sequence Nf6+ followed by Bxh7+ is in the air. Both sides must have considered the threat carefully with differing conclusions.
15...c4
"I dare you" says Richard.
16.Nf6+ Bxf6
Of course 16...gxf6 17.Bxh7+ Kxh7 18.Qh5+ Kg8 19.Qg4+ Kh8 20.Rf3 is forced mate.
17.Bxh7+! Kxh7 18.Qh5+ Kg8 19.exf6 Ne7!
The only way to keep the game going. 19...gxf6 20.Qg4+ Kh8 21.Rf3 gives us the same mating theme as in the variation given above.
20.fxe7 Re8
[20...Qxe7? 21.Bc5]
21.Rf3 Qxe7 22.Rh3 f5 23.Bd4
Threat is Qh8+ followed by Qxg7 mate.
23...e5 24.Bxe5 Qc5+ 25.Kh1 Rxe5 26.fxe5 Qxe5 27.Rf1
Wesley is still winning, but more accurate is 27.Rd1! Bb7 (If 27...Qe7 then 28.Rd8+ Qxd8 29.Qh8+ snares the queen) 28.Qh7+ Kf7 29.Rg3 Bc8 30.Qg6+ Ke7 31.Qc6 Rb8 32.Rxg7+!
27...Rb8 28.Qh7+ Kf7 29.Rhf3
[29.Rh6! finishes quicker]
29...Rb6 30.Qh5+ Kg8 31.Qg5 Rf6 32.Re3 Qd6 33.Re8+ Rf8 34.Re7 Rf7 35.Re8+ Rf8 36.Rfe1 Bd7 37.Rxf8+ Kxf8 38.Qd8+ Kf7 39.h4 Kg6 40.Re7 Qd1+ 41.Kh2 Qd6+ 42.Kh3 1–0
I must say that I have noticed the maturity of Wesley’s over-all game. From being an occasional brilliancy prize winner he has already grown to a stable performer who can contend on equal terms in the opening, middlegame and endgame.
Immediately after annexing the Philippine crown Wesley went to Singapore to play in the Masters’ Open. I will show you his game vs China’s 19-year old Li Chao, one more from the never-ending gallery of young promising players that they have. Li is much higher rated and despite his youth has played in a ton of tournaments in china. Wesley pulls out an opening novelty from his bag of tricks, gets the advantage, and then vigorously forces home the advantage. He made a 2500+ rated player look like a beginner (excuse me for gloating, but we don’t encounter these situations regularly these days).
So,Wesley (2411) - Li Chao (2508) [C47]
Singapore Masters (7), 29.12.2006
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 0–0 8.0–0 Re8
Li Chao avoids the main lines. After 8...d5 9.exd5 (9.e5? Ng4 10.Bf4 f6 is favorable for Black. Mieses,J-Rubinstein,A/ Berlin 1924 0–1 (37)) 9...cxd5 10.Bg5 c6 11.Qf3 Be7 it looks like black has completely equalized. Of course, if you are higher rated than your opponent and want to play for a win, you sometimes avoid the main lines which have the drawback of being heavily analyzed.
9.Bg5 h6 10.Bh4 Rb8?!
In his notes to the game Reinderman vs Ivan Sokolov from the 1995 Dutch championship, Viktor Korchnoi criticizes this move and suggests that the best course of action for Black would be to set up counter-action against white's e4 with 10...d6 11.f4 Bb7 12.Kh1 Bxc3 13.bxc3 c5 with a very playable game.
11.f4!
A theoretical novelty, and a good one. White wants to put pressure on f6 but the previous try 11.Qf3 didn't work. Black can immediately break the pin with 11...g5 12.Bg3 d6 and there is nothing wrong with his position. To illustrate just how quickly matters can come to a head: 13.Na4? (better is 13.h3! ) 13...c5 14.c3 Ba5 15.Rfe1 Bg4 16.Qe3 Bd7 17.Bc2 Bxa4 18.Bxa4 Rxe4 19.Qxe4 Nxe4 20.Rxe4 f5 Black has won material and soon wraps up. 21.Re6 f4 22.Rae1 Rxb2 23.Bb3 Rxb3 24.axb3 Kf7 0–1 Reinderman,D (2440)-Sokolov,I (2645)/ NED-ch 1995.
11...Be7 12.b3 Bc5+?
The start of a faulty maneuver. 12...d5 was indicated.
13.Kh1 Bd4 14.Ne2!
Maybe Black's idea was 14.Qe1 Bxc3 15.Qxc3 Nxe4 16.Bxd8 Nxc3 17.Bxc7 Rb7 18.Be5 Nd5 but even here White has a big advantage - two bishops, two pawn islands to Black's three, and a dark-squared weakness for the enemy which his bishops will no doubt exploit. Anyway, Wesley's move is much stronger.
14...Bxa1 15.Qxa1
caption: position after 15.Qxa1
Taking stock, we see that Black sorely misses his dark-squared bishop. The pressure against f6 is very strong and in fact the rest of the game looks like a forced win for White.
15...d6
The normal Sicilian maneuver 15...g5? 16.fxg5 Nh7 does not work here because of 17.g6!
16.Ng3 Re6 17.f5 Re5 18.Nh5 Kh7 19.Qe1
The main threat is 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Qh4.
19...d5 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Qh4 Qe7 22.Qg3 1–0
Li Chao resigns because the only move to prevent checkmate, 22...Qf8, allows 23.Nxf6+ Kh8 24.Qxe5.
Here Botvinnik’s lecture seems relevant:
“If you are going to make your mark among masters, you have to work far harder and more intensively, or, to put it more exactly, the work is far more complex than that needed to gain the title of Master. To begin with, you find yourself up against experienced, technically well-trained tournament players. And then, if your advance is swift, others play against you far more energetically.
“And, thirdly, every successive step up the ladder grows more difficult.
“At this stage you have to learn how to analyse and comment on games, for that enables you to criticize your own failures and successes. You have to accustom yourself to practical study at home, you have to devote time to studies, to the history of chess, the development of chess theory, of chess culture”.
I hope whoever is Wesley’s present coach takes note of the next step in his development – the analyzing and commenting on games.
Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bangcpa@gmail.com
"This article first appeared in Bobby Ang's column in Businessworld (Philippines) on 15 January 2007"
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