Wesley So reaches 2700 ELO

Filipino GM Wesley So has breached the 2700 rating barrier on the live rating list. He is the first Filipino to reach this ELO level. Wesley is playing in the Reykjavik Open and his rating is 2701.3 after drawing the last round against GM Pavel Eljanov (in just three moves!). Both players are ensured of a tie for first place after this draw.

China's latest chess sensation, IM Wei Yi, clinched his third and final GM norm at Reykjavik. At the age of 13,  he is now the youngest grandmaster in the world

Wesley So training with Carlsen

There is a piece in The New Yorker featuring Magnus Carlsen written by D.T.Max who interviewed the chess genius.

One stunning revelation that came out was that Carlsen had offered Filipino Wesley So to go to Europe and train with him. I know Wesley is an up-and-coming player and certainly will be among the world elite one day. But for Carlsen to make such an offer means he must have a high opinion of Wesley too. I believe Carlsen choose Wesley precisely because while Wesley will be a rival one day, that day is not now. So it makes sense that way I suppose.

I'm quite sure Wesley would not turn down the offer. It's not everyday or even every lifetime that you get a chance to work with one of the world's best player. This collaboration will benefit Wesley tremendously and I hope his rise to the top will come sooner than later.

Chess is a cruel game

I learnt long ago that chess can be a most cruel game. One wrong move can mean the difference between a first and second prize, a title norm or a near miss at a norm.

if you do not believe, look no further than  the on-going Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee. In the "A" group, a very strong field amongst which are Anand, Carlsen , Aronian , Kramnik etc. Any up and coming player will give anything to be in such company. Anish Giri is such a one. He is doing well with 4/8 even beating Carlsen !.

In the "B" group, Filipino star Wesley So is leading with 6/8 score. He will have a chance at next year's "A" group if he wins the "B" group this year. But I cannot help but think that he and Giri should have been in the reverse situation.

At last year's "B" group, Wesley had a winning position against Giri who continued playing (so much for those who keep insisting that a gentleman should resign lost games). Giri set a desperate trap which Wesley fell into and got himself mated. Here is the game.

A win for Wesley would mean he would have topped the "B" and receive the rare invitation to play in this year's "A" group. Instead Giri has taken his place. All because of one move (36. Ne2).

Wesley So still in lead

Philippines grandmaster Wesley So drew his fifth round game but so did his four rivals (all Chinese!). Thus Wesley still remains the leader going into the sixth round.

Standings after 5 rounds:

Title	Name	Federation	Rating	Points
GM	SO Wesley	PHI	2665	5,0
GM	YU Yangyi	CHN	2574	4,5
GM	DING Liren	CHN	2565	4,5
GM	GEETHA Narayanan Gopal	IND	2604	4,5
GM	NI Hua	CHN	2667	4,5
GM	LI Chao B	CHN	2613	4,5
GM	GUPTA Abhijeet	IND	2560	4,5
	GUNDAVAA Bayarsaikhan	MGL	2471	4,5
GM	BAKRE Tejas	IND	2465	4,0
GM	MEGARANTO Susanto	INA	2527	4,0
	YU Ruiyuan	CHN	2309	4,0
FM	GOLIZADEH Asghar	IRI	2454	4,0
IM	YANG Kaiqi	CHN	2396	4,0
IM	NGUYEN Thanh Son	VIE	2440	4,0
	WAN Yunguo	CHN	2424	4,0

Asian Continental Championship 2010

The current focus is on the World Championship match between Anand and Topalov. Another event closer to home has gone under the radar. This is the Asian Continental Championship currently in progress in Subic, Philippines.

Malaysia is not represented while resident GM Ziaur Rahman is playing under Bangladesh flag.

Philippines boy prodigy Wesley So is leading at the half-way point after five rounds with four and half points.

Top seed Le Quang Liem, recent winner of the Aeroflot Open, is finding the going tough and only scored three points. He lost the first round against a much lower rated player.

The top fifteen standings:

Title	Name	Federation	Rating	Points
GM	SO Wesley	PHI	2665	4,5
GM	YU Yangyi	CHN	2574	4,0
GM	DING Liren	CHN	2565	4,0
GM	NI Hua	CHN	2667	4,0
GM	LI Chao B	CHN	2613	4,0
GM	GEETHA Narayanan Gopal	IND	2604	4,0
GM	MEGARANTO Susanto	INA	2527	3,5
IM	NGUYEN Huynh Minh Huy	VIE	2469	3,5
FM	GOLIZADEH Asghar	IRI	2454	3,5
	YU Ruiyuan	CHN	2309	3,5
IM	NADERA Barlo A	PHI	2405	3,5
GM	GUPTA Abhijeet	IND	2560	3,5
GM	SASIKIRAN Krishnan	IND	2686	3,5
	WAN Yunguo	CHN	2424	3,5
GM	ZHOU Jianchao	CHN	2650	3,5

What is the future of Malaysian chess?

Over the last few weeks, I was following the progress of Vietnamese grandmaster Le Quang Liem, Chinese GM Zhou Jianchao and Philipino GM Wesley So in the Aeroflot and Moscow Open.

Zhou has been in the shadows of his more famous compatriots such as Bu Xiangzhi, Wang Yue and Wang Hao. But I think this year he will be emerging out of their shadows so expect to hear more from this 22 year old. He was undefeated in the Aeroflot Open and tied for third with 6/9.

Wesley So finished with a creditable 5.5/9, this is no easy feat considering that the Aeroflot Open is one of the strongest open around.

Le probably had his best performance ever, tying for first in the Moscow Open and coming clear first in the Aeroflot Open which immediately followed.

As I was watching these players on Playchess, I feel kind of sad. Will Malaysia ever have these kind of players who are able to compete with some of the world's best chess players and bring some glory to the nation? And who will these players be? Will it be Sumant Subramaniam, Yeoh Li Tian or Yeap Eng Chiam or some other yet to be discovered talent? Or is it just wishful thinking on my part?

Another thought came to my mind. Besides having monthly meetings, submitting tournament results to FIDE, running annual Nationals and send a team to the chess olympiad every other year, what is the Malaysian Chess Federation doing? Does the MCF have any plans to achieve something that we can be proud of?

My heart breaks for Wesley

At the 2010 Corus tournament, Wesley was playing with tournament leader Giri yesterday night. Giri has seven points to Wesley's six and half, making this a crucial game for Wesley. A win will allow him to overtake Giri.

Wesley had outwitted Giri tactically and Giri had to sac some pieces for an imaginary attack.

The following position was reached after Black's 34...Nf2-d1. Giri had less than a minute while Wesley had around twenty. Black's attack is a mirage and his last move a desperate one.



35. Qc1 !?

35. Rxd1 Rf1+ 36. Kxf1 Qxe3 37. Ne2 and Wesley is up two bishops , a knight and a rook (!) for his queen.

35...Qg3

Now white can still win with 36. Qxd1 Rf2 37. Qf1 Rxf1+ 38. Rxf1 and black has no chance to take on c3 because of the back rank mate.

But with nineteen minutes on his clock, Wesley plays the obvious fork

36. Ne2 ???? Rf1+

and White resigned as he gets mated after 37. Kxf1 Qf2 mate



Don't you just hate the game? It is days like this makes you want to commit suicide.