So scores shocker vs Chess Cup champ
MANILA -- Filipino chess prodigy Wesley So scored another shocking upset, this time against “chess heavyweight” and defending champion Gata Kamsky of the US, in the ongoing 2009 World Chess Cup at the Khanty-Mansiysk Festival of Arts in Russia.
The 16-year-old Pinoy grandmaster defeated Kamsky, a super GM with an ELO rating of 2695, in Game 1 of the Round 3 match up using the French defense.
So (ELO 2640) only needs to pull off a draw against Kamsky in Game 2 to advance to the next round of the biennial event.
Kamsky, a Soviet-born American chess player, reportedly offered So to split the point after 19 moves but the Filipino politely declined.
Kamsky is the defending champion, having won the 2007 World Chess Cup by defeating Spain’s Alexei Shirov in the 7th and final round. He is currently rated World’s No. 41 based on FIDE’s rankings.
So, rated No. 7 Junior player in the world, earlier toppled chess giant Vassily Ivanchuk after outplaying the Ukrainian GM, 1.5-05, in Round 3.
Ivanchuk, a super GM with an ELO rating of 2739, was upset with the loss to So that he has already considered retiring from the sport.
Manny Pacquiao of chess
National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president Prospero “Butch” Pichay, Jr. lauded So’s performance in the World Chess Cup.
“Anuman ang mangyari kay Wesley sa third round kontra kay Kamsky ay malaking karangalan na ang hatid niya sa bayan,” said Pichay.
Former Olympian national master (NM) Glenn Bordonada remarked: “As a friend commented, this is a historic day for Philippine chess. It recalls to mind Torre's win over Mikhail Tal in Leningrad.”
International arbiter and national master Erwin Carag also praised So.
“Wesley So beating Vassily Ivanchuk is just like Manny Pacquiao beating Oscar de la Hoya, a legend.”
“Now, Wesley against Gata, will be like Pacquiao vs Hatton or Pacquiao vs Cotto? My feeling is Wesley can topple Kamsky,” commented Carag.
The winner of the 2009 World Chess Cup will qualify for the Candidates stage of the World Chess Championship in 2011.
So is one of the biggest names in the Philippine chess scene. He achieved his GM status at the age of 14, becoming the 7th youngest person in the world to receive such title. With a report from Chessgames.com
Printer-friendly version
Send to friend
Share your views
Asus, Can You Deal With A Grandmaster President?
By the time he reaches the age to be a candidate he may be making more money than the president. I want him to be just like Manny Pacquiao, a hero that we all can be proud of as Filipinos.
I wish to see you run as
I wish to see you run as President once you reach the required minimum age. Your brilliance is what we need to move forward. Just don't use it to mess around. Right, Arroyo?
Eto Naman Ang Stats Ni So. Taga Bacoor, Cavite.
From Wikipedia:
Wesley So (born October 9, 1993) is a Filipino chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he achieved the GM title at the age of 14 years, 1 month and 28 days, making him the 7th youngest person to achieve the Grandmaster title in the history of chess.[1] Before becoming a Grandmaster, So had become the youngest Filipino International Master at the age of 12 years and 10 months. He is the recent winner of the prestigious 2009 Corus chess tournament for the Grandmaster C group.
Wesley So's world ranking is 89th and is the strongest Under-16 player in the world. He is currently ranked 7th highest junior (Under-20) in the world. His current FIDE rating is 2641 (see live rating). In January 2005, So raised his rating from 2165 to 2216 the following year. In January 2007, he improved his mark to 2451 before reaching 2526 exactly a year later. Later in October 2008, he was at 2610 and by doing so, he became the youngest player ever in the history of the game to break the 2600 Elo barrier.[2] In January 2009, he achieved a rating of 2627, a Philippines national record, surpassing the Elo 2621 rating of GM Mark Paragua in April 2006.
Congratulations, Wesley!
Ikaw nga ang Pacman ng chess. The brilliance of your victories shocks your opponents to retirement. Keep winning. Mabuhay ka, Wesley So!
congrats wesly so !!!
Iam too is an avid chess player at manalo man or matalo sya sa susunod na round im already proud to say im filipino because of what wesly have already achieved !! sna sya na ang susunod na robert fischer....
Kung Si Pacquiao Ay Sa Lakas, Si So Naman Ay Sa Utak
Masasabi nating si Wesley So ang Bobby Fischer ng Pilipinas sapagka't halos parehong pareho sila ng edad nang sila'y maging Grand Master. Lalong hahangaan ang mga Pilipino kung siya ay maging World Champion sa Chess.
Ayon sa Wikipedia,
"Fischer's achievements are legendary.
At 13, he won a brilliancy that became known as the Game of the Century.
Starting at age 14, he played in eight United States Championships, winning each by at least a point.
At 15½, he became both the youngest Grandmaster and the youngest Candidate for the World Championship up until that time.
He won the 1963-64 US championship 11-0, the only perfect score in the history of the tournament.
In the early 1970s he became the most dominant player in modern history—winning the 1970 Interzonal by a record 3½-point margin and winning 20 consecutive games, including two unprecedented 6-0 sweeps in the Candidates Matches.
In 1972, he wrested the World Championship from Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union in a match held in Reykjavík, Iceland that was widely publicized as a Cold War battle."