Wesley So at solo lead after six rounds in Philippines 'Battle of GMs'

Manila Night Lights

Wesley So maintained his solo lead by beating FIDE Master Fernie Donguines in 48 moves of the Sicilian at the sixth round of the 2008 "Battle of GMs" chess championship City State Hotel, Padre Faura, Manila.

Closely following at his heels with only half a point behind are GM Eugene Torre and IM John Paul Gomez.

At stake in the tournament are cash prizes with the men’s champion pocketing P200,000.

Aside from the champion’s purses, the NCFP will also give away P100,000 to the men’s runner-up and P70,000 to the men’s third placer.

Round 4 Philippines Battle of Grandmasters: Torre-So 1/2

Standings after four rounds:
Men: 3.5 points – W. So, J. Gomez; 3 -E. Torre, R. Bitoon; 2.5 – F. Donguines; 2 – R. Antonio; 1.5 – J. Sadorra, H. Nouri, R. Nolte; 1 – B. Villamayor; .5-J. Gonzales, O. Barbosa

Women: 3.5 – Shercila Cua, Y. Jose, C. Perena; 3 – Sherily Cua; 2 – A. Salvador, C. Bernales; 1.5 – K. Cunanan; 1 – B. Mendoza, E. Magno, J. Docena, C. Camacho, J. Palomo

The much anticipated match between the past and present of Philippine chess saw the world's youngest GM and Asia's first GM fought to a draw after 38 moves of the Ruy Lopez in the fourth round of the 2008 Battle of GMs at the Bayside Hall, City State Hotel on Mabini Avenue corner Padre Faura Street in Manila. So shared the lead with three-time national junior champion John Paul Gomez. "Mahirap pong pilitin, lalo na mabigat na GM din ang kalaban (It's hard to pursue a win, especially because you're up against a tough GM)," said So, an incoming high school junior at St. Francis College in Bacoor, Cavite. Perhaps, So couldn't but show respect from the old maestro's through out the match.

[Event "Battle of Grandmasters"]

[Site "CITYSTATE Hotel"]

[Date "2008.04.28"]

[Round "4.2"]

[White "So, Wesley"]

[Black "Torre, Eugene"]

[Result "1/2-1/2"]

[ECO "C80"]

[WhiteElo "2540"]

[BlackElo "2519"]

[PlyCount "76"]

[EventDate "2008.04.03"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5

Be6 9. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 Nxb3 11. Nxb3 Be7 12. Nfd4 Qd7 13. Nxc6 Qxc6 14. f4 Qd7

15. Be3 a5 16. a4 Bg4 17. Qd4 O-O 18. h3 Bf5 19. Qd1 bxa4 20. Nd4 a3 21. Nxf5

Qxf5 22. bxa3 Rfd8 23. Qd2 h5 24. Qf2 Rab8 25. Bc5 Bxc5 26. Qxc5 Rb2 27. Rf2

Rxf2 28. Qxf2 Rb8 29. Rf1 Rb1 30. Rxb1 Qxb1+ 31. Kh2 Qc1 32. Qd4 Qxa3 33. Qxd5

Qxc3 34. Qa8+ Kh7 35. Qd5 h4 36. Qxf7 Qg3+ 37. Kg1 Qe1+ 38. Kh2 Qg3+ 1/2-1/2

So remains undefeated after 3 rounds of Philippines "Battle of Grandmasters"

National Post Office, Manila

It's three for three for Wesley So in 2008 Philippines "Battle of Grandmasters" chess championship at the City State Hotel in Padre Faura, Manila. So beat fellow grandmaster Jayson Gonzales in 41 moves of an English Opening.

Gomez settled for a draw with IM Richard Bitoon while Torre defeated Hamed Nouri to share second spot with 2.5 points each.

Antonio bounced back after his loss to So in round two by defeating IM Rolando Nolte and climbing to 1.5 points, the same total posted by Singapore-based IM Julio Catalino Sadorra.

The 21-year-old Sadorra also wins his first victory of the tournament by besting GM Buenaventura “Bong” Villamayor in 24 moves of the Sicilian.

Standings after three rounds
Men: 3.0 points—W. So; 2.5—E. Torre, J. Gomez; 2.0—R. Bitoon; 1.5—R. Antonio, J. Sadorra, F. Donguines, H. Nouri; 0.5—J. Gonzales, B. Villamayor, O. Barbosa, R. Nolte.
Women: 3.0 points—Shercila Cua; 2.5—Sherily Cua, Y. Jose, C. Perena; 2.0—C. Bernales; 1.5—A. Salvador; 1.0—K. Cunanan. J. Docena; 0.5—E. Magno, J. Palomo, B. Mendoza, C. Camacho.

[Event "Battle of Grandmasters"]
[Site "CITYSTATE Hotel, Manila, PHI"]
[Date "2008.04.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Gonzales, Jayson"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A38"]
[WhiteElo "2468"]
[BlackElo "2540"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2008.04.27"]


1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. O-O O-O 7. d3 d6 8. a3 a6 9. Rb1 Rb8 10. b4 cxb4 11. axb4 b5 12. cxb5 axb5 13. h3 h6 14. e4 Be6 15. Bd2 Qd7 16. Kh2 g5 17. d4 d5 18. exd5 Nxd5 19. Ne4 Bf5 20. Nc5 Qd6 21. Rb3 Rfd8 22. Re1 Qf6 23. Ne4 Qg6 24. Qe2 Qh5 25. Ra3 Rbc8 26. Rc1 g4 27. Nh4 Nxd4 28. Qd1 Rxc1 29. Bxc1 Be6 30. Nc5 Nc3 31.Qh1 gxh3 32.Bb7 Qe2 33.Nxe6 Qxf2+ 34.Kxh3 Nxe6 35.Qf3 Qc2 36.Bxh6 Ne2 37.Be3 Ng1+ 38.Bxg1 Ng5+ 39.Kg4 Nxf3 40.Nxf3 Qc7 41.Ra7 Qd7+ 0-1

wesley so wins in the 2nd round of the Philippines battle of grandmasters

Intramuros, Manila

SOURCE: Philippine Daily Inquirer

So, the world’s youngest Grandmaster at 14, bested GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. in 50 moves of the Caro Kann Defense last night to share the lead with International Master John Paul Gomez after two rounds in the 2008 Battle of GMs chess championship at the Bayside Hall, City State Hotel in Mabini Ave. corner Padre Faura, Manila.

Gomez thwarted Singapore-based GM Buenaventura “Bong” Villamayor in 41 moves of the Benko Opening to boost his chances for the P200,000 top purse.

Right behind the leaders with 1.5 points were Asia’s first GM Eugene Torre, NM Hamed Nouri and IM Richard Bitoon.

Despite handling black for the second straight game, Torre beat Fide Master Fernie Donguines in 56 moves of the Alekhine.

Nouri, the pride of Escalante, Negros, stunned GM Jayson Gonzales in 27 moves of the London Opening; while Bitoon crushed NM Oliver Barbosa after 41 moves of a Sicilian.

* * *

Standings after Round 2
Men: 2 points–W. So, J. Gomez; 1.5–E. Torre, R. Bitoon, N. Hamed; 0.5–R. Antonio, J. Gonzales, B. Villamayor, F. Donguines, O. Barbosa, R. Nolte, J. Sadorra

Women: 2–Shercila Cua; 1.5–C. Perena, Sherily Cua, Y. Jose; 1–A. Salvador, J. Docena, C. Bernales; .5–J. Palomo C. Camacho, K. Cunanan, B. Mendoza, E. Magno

Philippines "Battle of Grandmasters"

From National Chess Federation of the Philippines Website

Thursday, 24 April 2008

All systems Go for the BATTLE OF GRANDMASTERS which kicks of at 1:00 pm April; 25, 2008 at the Bayside Hall, 11th floor, Citystate Tower Hotel, Mabini St. corner Padre Faura, Ermita, Manila.
This event which will be held up to May 3rd, will feature the Country’s top 12 Men and top 12 Women Woodpushers battling in their respective single round robin format tourneys to determine the best amongst the best in Philippine Chess.

The line-up for the Men's division, include newly crowned Dubai Cup Champion GM Wesley So, GMs Rogelio Antonio Jr, Eugene Torre, Bong Villamayor and Jayson Gonzales, IMs Julio Catalino Sadorra, John Paul Gomez and Richard Bitoon, FM Fernie Donguines, NMs Rolando Nolte, Oliver Barbosa and Hamed Nouri. For the distaff side vying for the title are WIM Beverly Mendoza, WNMs Catherine Perena, Sherily & Shercila Cua, Jedara Docena, Aices Salvador, Cheradee Camacho, Kimberly Cunanan, Enerose Magno, Christy Lamiel Bernales, Rulf Ylem Jose and Jenny Rose Palomo.


Prizes for the Men's division : Champion P200,000.00, 2nd 100,000.00, 3rd 70,000.00, 4th 50,000.00, 5th 30,000.00 at 6th 20,000.00 and for the Womens Division : Champion P50,000.00, 2nd 40,000.00, 3rd 30,000.00 4th 20,000.00 5th 15,000.00 and 6th 10,000.00.



Schedule....
BATTLE OF GRANDMASTERS
SCHEDULE

DATE TIME ACTIVITY
25-Apr 1:00 PM Opening Ceremony
2:30 PM - 7:30 PM 1st Round
26-Apr 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM 2nd Round
27-Apr 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM 3rd Round
4:00 PM - 9:00 PM 4th Round
28-Apr 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM 5th Round
29-Apr 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM 6th Round
4:00 PM - 9:00 PM 7th Round
30-Apr 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM 8th Round
1-May 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM 9th Round
2-May 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM 10th Round
3-May 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM 11th Round
7:00 PM AWARDING OF PRIZES
CLOSING CEREMONIES

Survey Ends

Hi there!

Our survey ended yesterday, April 24, 2008 and we had a number of respondents for our second poll. We asked the readers this simple question: What do you do regularly to improve your chess skills? Out of 7 respondents, we had 3 who said they study annotated games of the masters while solving chess puzzles and playing against human opponents had two votes. We have a new survey. Please join us.

Thanks for participating people! Thanks!

Just Missed round 4 of Baku Grnd Prix

I just missed the round 4 report of Baku Grand Prix. My apologize. Please be patient because just like you, I too have an 8-5 job at the office. For those who already show their appreciation and gave their encouragement, thank you very much. For your thoughts and views, please feel free to email me. I will try to resume our report for round 5 of Baku Gand Prix late this evening.

Baku Grand Prix Round : Carlsen-Inakiev 1-0

Top seed Magnus Carlsen of Norway salvage his first victory of the tournament on the cause of his brilliant end game maneuvering. Inarkiev suffered his second lost in the event with a win. The match was fought using the King's Indian system but Carlsen avoid the usual line of posting a pawn on c5.

GM Carlsen (2765) - GM Inarkiev (2684) [A48]
23.04.2008 - Round 3 - Baku Grand Prix

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bg5 Bg7 4.Nbd2 0–0 5.c3 h6 6.Bh4 d6 7.e4 c5 8.dxc5 dxc5 9.Bc4 Nc6 10.0–0 Nh5 11.Qe2 Qc7 12.Rfe1 Na5 13.Bb5 a6 14.Ba4 b5 15.Bc2 e5 16.Nf1 Nf4 17.Qd1 Nc4 18.Qb1 Bg4 19.Bd1 g5 20.Bg3 Rad8 21.h3 Bh5 22.Bxf4 exf4 23.Be2 Bxf3 24.Bxf3 Nd2 25.Nxd2 Rxd2 26.e5 Bxe5 27.Qf5 f6 28.Rad1 Rfd8 29.Qe6+ Kg7 30.Qxa6 b4 31.Rxd2 Rxd2 32.Rd1 bxc3 33.bxc3 Rxd1+ 34.Bxd1 c4 35.Be2 Bxc3 36.Bxc4 Be5 37.Qe6 Qd8 38.Qf7+ Kh8 39.f3 Bd6 40.a4 Bb4 41.Kh2 Qf8 42.Qg6 Be1 43.Bd3 f5 44.a5 Bg3+ 45.Kh1 Qg7 46.Qe8+ Qg8 47.Qe5+ Qg7 48.Qb8+ Qg8 49.Qb6 Qd5 50.Qxh6+ Kg8 51.Qxg5+ Kf7 52.Qxf5+ Qxf5 53.Bxf5 Bf2 54.g4 fxg3 55.f4 Kf6 56.Be4 White wins 1–0

You can see all the LIVE games HERE

Baku Grand Prix Round 3: Gashimov-Svidler 1-0

In a Sicilian/Kan Variation, Peter Svidler, playing black, chose a rare aggressive line of the variation (8...Bd6!?) in an attempt to put an immediate pressure on enemy king. Vugar Gashimov ignore the threat with a cold reply 9. a5 to stick with his plan of initiating a queen side action of his own. Black's bishop stayed on d5 square for quite sometime but doesn't look that threatening. 15 moves later, white finally saw the lights to knock the bishop out of d5 with tempo. The timing was perfect as white finally able to effectively advance his e and f pawn deep into enemy territory almost stealthily. The end came for black in the 31st move when an imminent pin of white bishop and rook on the black night on g7, loosing the knight in the process.

GM Gashimov - GM Svidler
Baku GP - Round 3

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 b5 6. Be2 Bb7 7. Bf3 Qc7 8. O-OBd6 9. a4 Bxh2+ 10. Kh1 Be5 11. axb5 Nf6 12. Be3 O-O 13. Qd3 d6 14. Rfd1 Nfd715. Qd2 Rc8 16. Be2 Nf6 17. f4 Bxd4 18. Qxd4 d5 19. bxa6 Nxa6 20. e5 Ne8 21. f5Nc5 22. Bb5 Qd8 23. Rxa8 Bxa8 24. f6 Nd7 25. fxg7 Qc7 26. Bf4 Qb7 27. Rd3 Nxg728. Bxd7 Rc4 29. Qf2 Qxd7 30. Rg3 Kh8 31. Bg5 1-0

You can see all the LIVE games HERE

Baku Grand Prix Round 3: Radjabov-Wang 1/2

In a battle that took almost entirely on the queen side, local hero Teimour Radjabov made Yue Wang's misplaced knight on a5 as immobile and useless for much of the match but the Chinese sensation who shows no intimidation whatsoever against his much stronger opponent find again some way to escape with a draw. Seeing Radjabov's over extended c and d pawns, Wang tried everything he can for more effective queen side actions for his pieces to liberate his game. But Radjabovs constant pressure on the misplaced knight made it hard for both players to gain any initiative. Draw were agreed after the 37th move of the Petroff.

Baku Grand Prix Round 3: Kamsky-Mamedyarov 1/2

In a Gruenfeld encounter, Gata Kamsky of the US drew his match against Shakriyar Mamedyarov in a wild, wild affair of sacrifices. Mamedyarov, playing white momentarily sacrifice a rook for mating threats on g7 . Kamsky, playing black, return the piece a couple of moves later to avoid imminent mate. Black enjoy material advantage for a while before White swipe three pawns in three succession moves to make the game almost dead even. Mamedyarov tried to pushed his isolated past pawn but black's constant harassment of White's king resulted in repetition moves.

You can see all the LIVE games HERE

Baku Grand Prix Updates

Round 2 results:

Kamsky Gata 2726 ½ - ½ Navara David 2672
Grischuk Alexander 2716 ½ - ½ Karjakin Sergey 2732
Adams Michael 2729 1 - 0 Cheparinov Ivan 2695
Bacrot Etienne 2705 0 - 1 Radjabov Teimour 2751
Yue Wang 2689 ½ - ½ Gashimov Vugar 2679
Svidler Peter 2746 ½ - ½ Carlsen Magnus 2765
Inarkiev Ernesto 2684 1 - 0 Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2752

Round 2 standings:

1-4. Kamsky Gata 2726 USA, Radjabov Teimour 2751 AZE, Adams Michael 2729 ENG and Grischuk Alexander 2716 RUS - 1½
5-11. Karjakin Sergey 2732 UKR, Navara David 2672 CZE, Carlsen Magnus 2765 NOR, Yue Wang 2689 CHN, Gashimov Vugar 2679 AZE, Svidler Peter 2746 RUS and Inarkiev Ernesto 2684 RUS - 1.0
12-13. Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2752 AZE and Bacrot Etienne 2705 FRA - ½
14. Cheparinov Ivan 2695 BUL - 0.0

Round 3 on 23rd April at 15:00 local time and 16:00 in the Far East

Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2752 - Kamsky Gata 2726
Carlsen Magnus 2765 - Inarkiev Ernesto 2684
Gashimov Vugar 2679 - Svidler Peter 2746
Radjabov Teimour 2751 - Yue Wang 2689
Cheparinov Ivan 2695 - Bacrot Etienne 2705
Karjakin Sergey 2732 - Adams Michael 2729
Navara David 2672 - Grischuk Alexander 2716

Baku Grand Prix Round 2: Radjabov-Bacrot 1-0

the last match of the day was also the most grueling one. Local hero, Teimour Radjabov of Baku Azerbaijan breaks through the stiff resistance of the Frenchman Etienne Bacrot in 60 moves of Sicilian/Sveshnikov Varition. An end game of opposite bishop is always exciting right? also given the chance of an archipelago of pawns to fought with. So three exciting victories in round 2. Pick your choice which is best of the day. Good night everyone and thanks a lot for joining me. till tommorow :)


You can see all the LIVE games HERE

Baku Grand Prix Round 2: Adams, out position the positional master!

Next to salvage a victory for the day was the veteran Englishman, Michael Adams. It was a positional battle evolved from the Sicilian/Rossolimo variation that saw Ivan Cheparinov crumpled towards the beginning of the end game despite being branded as in the same league of Leko and Kramnik as masters of positional plays. The game nonetheles is a beauty and an example of complex rook and pawn endings. Adams manage somehow to win a pawn that decide the match.

You can see all the LIVE games HERE

Baku Grand Prix Round 2: Gashimov-Wang 1/2

The Gashimov-Wang encounter though a luckluster one, is not short of being "interesting" :) the game was fought on a Benoni/Fianchetto Variation in 46 moves. With pawns of both sides all locked up in cold hostility in the center of the board, each player futilely tried to out flank one another as if their pieces moves aimlessly from square to square. The match was obviously bound for a draw even before they reached 20th moves.

You can see all the LIVE games HERE

Baku Grand Prix Round 2: Kamsky-Navara1/2

Too focus on improving his “position” in the early middle game of the match when he has already achieve it with masterful execution of the Queens Gambit/Semi-Slav, Kamsky misses some chances when he had the position to mug David Navara of Czech Republic before the latter had his own chances to equalize. Instead it was the difficult knights end game Kamsky had to deal about.

You can see all the LIVE games HERE

Baku Grand Prix Round 2: Carlsen-Svidler 1/2

The match between top seed Magnus Carlsen of Norway and Peter Svidler of Russia ended in a truce after 43 moves of the Ruy Lopez/Open Variation. It was a sorry draw for Svidler who had his chances against the top seed in the end game but wasn't able to capitalize them. Despite the draw and being a pawn down, the Norwegian wunderkid show his deep understanding of the end game when everything seems against his favor.

You can see all the LIVE games HERE

Baku Grand Prix Round 2: Inarkiev bounce back with vengeance!

Leaving behind the blunder he commits in round 1 against Kamsky, Ernesto Inarkiev bounce back by beating local hero Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan in 36 moves of the Pirc/Classical Variation. Mamedyarov who wants to turn the table early in his favor, tried prematurely to sacrifice his bishop to expose Inarkiev’s king for an all out attack but the Russian, ignoring the offered piece, come up with a brilliant moves of his own by trapping Mamedyarov pieces, lossing a rook for a bishop and a pawn and destroyed blacks strategy altogether in the process. Inarkiev’s two rooks took control the open c and d files, for the rest of the match.

You can see all the LIVE games HERE

Baku Grand Prix round 2 early results: Grischuk-Karjakin 1/2

Alexander Grischuk of Russia and Sergei Karjakin of Ukraine drew their match after only 19 move of the Queens Gambit/Semi-Slav/Botvinnick Variation. Grischuk, playing white, commit an early knight sacrife to break black's king side defenses and manage to bring his rook into Karjakin's seventh rank but white's aggressive and dominant occupation of the open h file supported by his Queen and clear space advantage for his pieces only ends to threefold repetition. Karjakin showing that he is undeterred from this early assault, spent only 7 minutes the entire match while Grischuk took almost an hour.

You can see all the LIVE games HERE

Round 2 of Baku Grand Prix

Round 2 of Baku Grand Prix is underway. Latest updates come shortly after each matches.

Baku Grand Prix: Kamsky joins Grischuk with victories each in the first round

American Gata Kamsky joins Alexander Grischuk with victory a piece in the first round of the tournament. The 7th seed Kamsky (2726) battered Ernesto Inarkiev (2684) of Russia into submission after 46th move of surprise, surprise...another Ruy Lopez, the fifth of the first round, but in a closed Breyer Variation. It is interesting to know how the die hard, Sicilian fans would react to this :) The match, to my opinion, is the most exciting of the day. We will try to post the PGN later.


You can see all the LIVE games HERE

Baku Grand Prix: Carlsen-Wang fought into another draw

The match that kept me at the edge of the seat end up into another draw. It was a hard fought and deep tactical match of the two youngsters that saw them halve the points after 59th move of another Ruy Lopez, surprisingly, the third in the first round. Wang opted with the Berlin defence (3...Nf6) a variation that has a reputation for solidity at the expense of drawishness. It was a battle that even a slight mistake could decide the match. We will try to post the PGN later :)

You can see all the LIVE games HERE

Baku Grand Prix: Radjabov-Adams match ended in another draw

The match between third seed Teimour Radjabov (2751) of Azerbaijan and sixth seed Englishman Michael Adams (2729) also ended in another draw after 39th move of another Ruy Lopez but this time in a more ambitious exchange Variations.

You can see all the LIVE games HERE

Grand Prix Baku: Grischuk posted first win of the tournament!

Eight seed Alexander Grischuck (2716) of Russia posted the first victory of the Baku Grand Prix against tenth seed Ivan Cheparinov (2695) of Bulgaria after 42 moves of the ever aggressive French/Winawer Variation.

Grand Prix Baku: Karjakin-Navara fought to a draw

The match between Sergei Karjakin (2732) of Ukraine and David Navara (2672) of Czech Republic ended in three-fold repetition after 35 moves of the Ruy Lopez.

You can see all the LIVE games HERE

Baku Grand Prix is on the way: Mamedyarov-Svidler drew their match

GM Mamedyarov (2752) - GM Svidler (2746) [E76]
21.04.2008 - Baku Grand Prix - Round 1

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 0–0 6.Nf3 e5 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Nxe5 Qxd1+ 9.Kxd1 Na6 10.Be2 Rd8+ 11.Kc2 Nxe4 12.Nxe4 Bf5 13.Bf3 Nc5 14.Re1 Bxe5 15.fxe5 Rd4 16.Kc3 Rd3+ 17.Kc2 Rd4 18.Kc3 Rd3+ 19.Kb4 Na6+ 20.Ka5 b6+ 21.Kxa6 Bc8+ 22.Kb5 Bd7+ 23.Ka6 Bc8+ 24.Kb5 Bd7+ 25.Ka6 Game drawn ½–½

You can see all the live games HERE

Wesley So wins duel against Susanto Megaranto 4-2!

GM Wesley So of the Philippines easily cruises past his Indonesian counterpart GM Susanto Megaranto to emerge victorious in their one on one match up at 2008 Japfa chess festival in Jakarta Indonesia. Final score is 3 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in favor of Grandmaster So. Cheers GM Wesley So!

Here's some highlight wins for So.

[Event "JAPFA Chess Festival 2008 Match Game 1"]
[Site "Jakarta, Indonisia"]
[Date "2008.04.17"]
[Round "1"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Megaranto, Susanto"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B19"]
[WhiteElo "2540"]
[BlackElo "2561"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2008.04.17"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bf4 Qa5+ 12. Bd2 Qc7 13. O-O-O Ngf6 14. Ne4 O-O-O 15. g3 Nxe4 16. Qxe4 Nf6 17. Qe2 Bd6 18. c4 c5 19. Bc3 cxd4 20. Nxd4 a6 21. Kb1 Rd7 22. Rc1 Qc5 23. Nb3 Qf5+ 24. Rc2 Bc7 25. Bxf6 gxf6 26. c5 Rd5 27. c6 b5 28. Qe3 Kd8 29. Qa7 Re8 30. Nc5 a5 31. Na6 Qe5 32. Rhc1 Qd6 33. Qa8+ Ke7 34. Qb7 Kd8 35. Rc5 Rxc5 36. Rxc5 f5 37. Rc2 Rg8 38. Nxc7 1-0



Megaranto,Susanto (2561) - So,Wesley (2540) [B30]
Jakarta (2), 18.04.2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.0–0 Nge7 5.Re1 Nd4 6.Nxd4 cxd4 7.d3 a6 8.Ba4 Nc6 9.Bf4 Be7 10.Nd2 0–0 11.Bxc6 bxc6 12.e5 c5 13.Qg4 Kh8 14.Ne4 Bb7 15.Qh5 Qb6 16.b3 f6 17.f3 Bd5 18.exf6 gxf6 19.Ng3 Rg8 20.Nf5 Bf8 21.Qf7 Qd8 22.Kh1 Bc6 23.Ng3 Rg6 24.Ne4 e5 25.Bg3 Qe7 26.Qxe7 Bxe7 27.Bh4 Rag8 28.g4 Kg7 29.Bg3 Kf7 30.Rg1 R6g7 31.Raf1 d6 # 32.Rf2 h5 33.Kg2 hxg4 34.fxg4 Rxg4 35.Kf3 f5 36.Ke2 Ke6 0–1



[Event “JAPFA Chess Festival 2008 Match ]
[Site “Jakarta, Indonisia”]
[Date “2008.04.18″]
[Round “3″]
[White “So, Wesley”]
[Black “Megaranto, Susanto”]
[Result “1-0″]
[ECO “B01″]
[WhiteElo “2540″]
[BlackElo “2561″]
[PlyCount “113″]
[EventDate “2008.04.18″]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 c6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Bc4 Bf5 7. Bd2 e6 8. Nd5 Qd8 9. Nxf6+ gxf6 10. c3 Nd7 11. Nh4 Bg6 12. Qf3 Qc7 13. O-O Bd6 14. g3 O-O-O 15. a4 f5 16. a5 a6 17. Rfe1 Nf6 18. Bg5 Be7 19. Ng2 Ne4 20. Bxe7 Qxe7 21. Nf4 e5 22. dxe5 Rd2 23. Re2 Rhd8 24. h4 h5 25. e6 Rxe2 26. Bxe2 Qf6 27. exf7 Bxf7 28. Qe3 Re8 29. Qa7 Rg8 30. Kh2 Rd8 31. Bd3 Nd2 32. Rd1 Ne4 33. Re1 Bd5 34. Re2 Qf7 35. f3 Nd6 36. Nxd5 Qxd5 37. Qe3 Qxa5 38. Qe5 Qxe5 39. Rxe5 b5 40. b4 Rf8 41. Re7 Rh8 42. Kg2 Rh6 43. Kf2 Kd8 44. Ra7 Kc8 45. Ke3 Re6+ 46. Kf4 Re1 47. Rxa6 Kb7 48. Ra2 Kb6 49. Rc2 c5 50. Bxf5 c4 51. Bg6 Kc6 52. Bxh5 Nc8 53. Bg6 Kd6 54. h5 Ne7 55. Be4 Rh1 56. g4 Ke6 57. Kg5 1-0

So, continues to dominates Indon GM

Wild, wild Wesley on fire versus Indon GM

GRANDMASTER Wesley So continued to amaze the chess world by dominating Indonesia’s top player right on his turf.

So posted three straight wins in his six-game duel opposite GM Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia, leaving him a draw short of winning the FIDE rated event at the Indonesian Sports Council Hall in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The 14-year-old from Bacoor, Cavite recently ruled the tough Dubai Open Chess Championship, beating a super GM and the reigning world junior champion on his way to a record-setting performance.

He beat Megaranto with the white pieces in the third match after 57 moves of Scandinavian Defense Friday night.

The top Filipino player with an ELO of 2540 took the first match with the white pieces after 38 moves of a Caro-Kann Bf5 variation and the second with the black pieces after 36 moves of Sicilian Skirmish.

Megaranto, the highest rated player of Indonesia with an ELO of 2561, needs to sweep the last three games to salvage a draw. His rating will go down regardless of the results in the remaining games.

The 20-year-old is the youngest Indonesian GM, completing the required three norms three years ago.

So, the youngest GM in the world these days, will pick up some more rating points to inch closer to the 2600-barrier. He earned 15 ELO points from Dubai, giving him an unofficial rating of 2555.

Source: www.manilatimes.net

GM Wesley So, playing bullet chess

Here's a rare video of GM So (on the right) playing a friendly bullet match against an unidentified player after their games at the 3rd Pichay Cup at the Duty Free Fiesta Mall in Parañaque City, Philippines on December 2007.

Miguel Nahdorf 98th Birth Anniversary

The inventor of the famous Sicilian Defense variation, the Najdorf [ECO B9x]1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 was born on this day April 15, in 1910. The Najdorf Variation is one of the most popular systems in modern chess. He also made contributions to the theory and praxis of other openings such as the King's Indian Defense. Najdorf was also a well-respected chess journalist, who had a popular column in the Buenos Aires Clarin newspaper.

Here's a notable game by Miguel Najdorf often called "Najdorf's Immortal" - one of the most brilliant games of the 20th century.

Site "Warsaw
Date "1929.??.??"

White: Glucksberg
Black: Miguel Najdorf
[ECO "A85"]


1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e6 4.Nf3 d5 5.e3 c6 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.O-O O-O
8.Ne2 Nbd7 9.Ng5 Bxh2+ 10.Kh1 Ng4 11.f4 Qe8 12.g3 Qh5 13.Kg2
Bg1 14.Nxg1 Qh2+ 15.Kf3 e5 16.dxe5 Ndxe5+ 17.fxe5 Nxe5+ 18.Kf4
Ng6+ 19.Kf3 f4 20.exf4 Bg4+ 21.Kxg4 Ne5+ 22.fxe5 h5# 0-1
Replay this game>>

Miguel Najdor'f Biography

Howard Staunton and the Staunton chess set

Somewhere in the 19th century in this month of April, a great English chess master, newspaper chess columnist and author was born. He was Howard Staunton, considered at that time as the strongest chess player from 1843 to about 1851. He gave his name to the style of chess pieces which he endorsed. The Staunton chess set is now the official FIDE standard for playing sets.

Staunton's Biography

So young, So good! Wesley So wins Dubai open

The world's youngest Filipino Grandmaster Wesley So has won the 10th Dubai Open Chess Championships. His final score is seven points from 9 games, the same as 3 other players GMs Gagunashvili, Ghaem Maghami, and Li but Wesley wins the Cup on account of a superior tie-break.

The victory inch the 14 year old second year high school students closer to his dreams of becoming a super grandmaster. "I felt very happy when I became a Grandmaster. Maybe I will become a model for my fellow players. My aim now is to become a super Grandmaster". He tells the local paper there. But he has his game to back up his words by beating the reigning world junior champ in round 4 and super Grandmaster in round 3.

Here are the top finishers:

1 GM So Wesley 2540 PHI 7,0
2 GM Gagunashvili Merab 2553 GEO 7,0
3 GM Ghaem Maghami Ehsan 2604 IRI 7,0
4 GM Li Chao B 2581 CHN 7,0

5 GM Gupta Abhijeet 2521 IND 6,5
6 GM Drozdovskij Yuri 2581 UKR 6,5
7 IM Laxman R R 2488 IND 6,5
8 GM Neverov Valeriy 2568 UKR 6,5
9 GM Arutinian David 2593 GEO 6,5
10 GM Ibrahimov Rasul 2535 AZE 6,5
11 GM Guseinov Gadir 2625 AZE 6,5
12 GM Guliev Sarhan 2487 AZE 6,5

Here is the full crosstable.

And here's a highlight match from one of So's victory.

10th Dubai Open
So Wesley
Wu Xibin
Sicilian/Najdorf/Poisoned Pawn Variation


1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6 8. Qd2 Qxb2 9. Rb1 Qa3 10. e5 h6 11. Bh4 dxe5 12. fxe5 Nfd7 13. Ne4 Qxa2 14. Rd1 Qd5 15. Qe3 Qxe5 16. Be2 Bc5 17. Bg3 Bxd4 18. Rxd4 Qa5+ 19. Rd2 O-O 20. Bd6 Nc6 21. O-O

After 21. 0-0

Nce5 22. Bxf8 Nxf8 23. Nd6 Bd7 24. Nxb7 Qb4 25. Nc5 Bb5 26. c3 Ng4 27. cxb4 Nxe3 28. Ra1 Rb8 29. Nxa6 Bxa6 30. Rxa6 Nd5 31. b5 Nd7 32. Ra7 N7b6 33. Rc2 g6 34. Bf3 Kg7 35. g3 h5 36. Bg2 Nc8 37. Rd7 Ncb6 38. Ra7 Nc8 39. Ra5 Nd6 40. Bf1 Rb7 41. Rb2 Nc8 42. Bg2 Ncb6 43. Ra6 Rc7 44. Bxd5 Nxd5 45. Kf2 Rb7 46. Rc6 Kf6 47. Ke2 Nc7 48. b6 Nd5 49. Kd3 Ke7 50. Kd4 Kd7 51. Kc5 Nc3 52. Rd2+ Ke8 53. Rc8+ Ke7 54. Kc6 1-0

Kasparov turns 45 today!

Garry Kasparov (born as Garri Kimovich Weinstein) on April 13, 1963 in Baku Azerbaijan. Kaparov's online Biography.

Here's a notable games by Garry Kasparov nicknamed "Kasparov's Immortal" against the deadly up and coming chess superstar Vaselin Topalov.


White: Garry Kasparov (2812)
Black: Vaselin Topalov (2700)

Wijk aan Zee NED
January 20, 1999

Pirc Defense: General (B06)

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 Bg7 5. Qd2 c6 6. f3 b5
7. Nge2 Nbd7 8. Bh6 Bxh6 9. Qxh6 Bb7 10. a3 e5 11. O-O-O Qe7
12. Kb1 a6 13. Nc1 O-O-O 14. Nb3 exd4 15. Rxd4 c5 16. Rd1 Nb6
17. g3 Kb8 18. Na5 Ba8 19. Bh3 d5 20. Qf4+ Ka7 21. Rhe1 d4
22. Nd5 Nbxd5 23. exd5 Qd6 24. Rxd4 cxd4 25. Re7+ Kb6
26. Qxd4+ Kxa5 27. b4+ Ka4 28. Qc3 Qxd5 29. Ra7 Bb7 30. Rxb7
Qc4 31. Qxf6 Kxa3 32. Qxa6+ Kxb4 33. c3+ Kxc3 34. Qa1+ Kd2
35. Qb2+ Kd1 36. Bf1 Rd2 37. Rd7 Rxd7 38. Bxc4 bxc4 39. Qxh8
Rd3 40. Qa8 c3 41. Qa4+ Ke1 42. f4 f5 { 43. Kc1 Rd2 44. Qa7 }
1-0 Replay the game>>

Blitz,blitz...

what do you think of this video? are you impressed or depressed :)

almost every moves within the dying seconds are "unclear". Pieces falls, and then Akobian/Nakamura correct its place while opponents clock is already running. When Akobian put his pawn on the last rank he didn't promote and push his clock. According to FIDE rules this is an illegal move. Instead, he had to stop his clock and fine a Queen (or any other piece to which he wanted to promote his pawn) and then, start his clock and promote the pawn.

If there's anything wrong with my analysis and observation about the match, please feel free to correct me.

So Far, So Good

by Pisak

GM Wesley So continued his monstrous performance in the 10th Dubai Chess Open, posting another victory over local favorite FM Salem Saleh of UAE in round 5. Wesley still maintains a perfect slate after five rounds and with an excellent rating performance of 3104.

Wesley, the world’s youngest grandmaster, now solely leads the tournament will next face GM Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia. Read full story>>

Amazing Blindfold Chess Tactics

Hi everyone. Check this one out...

I was reviewing some of the games from the recent Melody Amber Tournament. Okay, I'm no big fan of Blindfold chess but what excites me most from this games was on how interesting the matches ended. Surprisingly, almost every games I review ended quite easy to follow even for amateurs or club players. It's all straight forward chess. Check mating the King or winning materials. No fancy and complex strategical positioning (though there some notable exceptions). All in all, the games played in blindfold is not for beginners or amateurs alike to seriously study with. But nevertheless, the recent Amber tournament left me in total awe on how great the memories and visualizations this grandmasters possesed. Here's a nice finished by Alexander Morozevich, playing white against the world champion Viswanathan Anand, playing black. It's white to move and try to solve the position for yourself with eyes wide open on how white saw or should I say figure out, the winning move. This is a quite a difficult one and it's been played blindfold. Wow!

Adams, Hou, Sargissian win in Merida

Merida Round 5 Results:

1 Hou YIFAN (2549) 1 0 Julio GRANDA (2609)
2 Zhang PENGXIANG (2640) ½ ½ Humpy KONERU (2603)
3 Manuel Perez CANDELARIO (2537) 0 1 Michael ADAMS (2729)
4 Fabiano CARUANA (2620) 0 1 Gabriel SARGISSIAN (2643)

Official website: http://ruylopez.juntaextremadura.net/mrl/calendario.php

GM Wesley So currently on top of 2008 Dubai Chess Cup

by Pisak
Philippine Chess Web Forum

World’s youngest Grandmaster Wesley So of the Philippines now leads the 2008 Dubai Chess Open after trashing Super GM Levan Pantsulaia of Georgia in round 3. Wesley, with 3 points and with the highest tie-break points, was joined by 7 other undefeated on top of standings.

Handling the disadvantageous black pieces, Wesley still able to win and proved his readiness to be a Super Grandmaster.

After 3 rounds, Wesley already achieved a monstrous ELO performance of 3053 in this tournament. He will next face the current World’s Junior Chess champ from Egypt, Ahmed Adly.

On the other hand, Julio Catalino Sadorra also made his move by halving point with GM Tigran Kontanjian of Armenia to raised his point to 2.5 and strengthen his bid for another GM norm.

Below is Wesley latest game: (Also please see our Game of the Week for ease of viewing)
2008 Dubai Open
Pantsulaia Levan (2640) vs So Wesley (2540)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qc2 c5 6. d5 exd5 7. cxd5 Bb7 8. Bg2 Nxd5 9. O-O Be7 10. Qe4 Bc6 11. Ne5 Nf6 12. Nxc6 Nxc6 13. Qa4 O-O 14. Nc3 a6 15. Bxc6 dxc6 16. Qxc6 b5 17. Bf4 Qc8 18. Qf3 Qe6 19. e4 Rad8 20. Rfe1 Rfe8 21. Rad1 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 Bf8 23. e5 Nd7 24. Qb7 Nxe5 25. Bxe5 Qxe5 26. Qxa6 b4 27. Na4 g6 28. Qc4 Qh5 29. Rf1 Qf3 30. Nb6 Rd8 31. Qc2 Bg7 32. Nc4 Bd4 33. Na5 Qa8 34. Nb3 Qxa2 35. Nxd4 cxd4 36. Rd1 d3 37. Qd2 Qc4 38. Rc1 Qe4 39. Re1 Qd4 40. h4 h5 41. Rd1 Re8 42. Qf4 Qxb2 43. Qd6 Re2 44. Qb6 b3 45. Kg2 Qc2 46. Ra1 b2 47. Ra8+ Kh7 48. Rb8 b1=Q 0-1

Meanwhile here’s the latest article with regards to GM Wesley So coming from a newspaper in the Gulf Region.

http://www.gulfnews.com/sport/Chess/10204143.html

Adams leads in Mérida

After three rounds Michael Adams is leading an interesting field of participants in the Spanish tournament Magistral Ruy López.

Besides the Englishman, Zhang Pengxiang, Gabriel Sargissian, Fabiano Caruana, Humpy Koneru, Julio Granda Zuniga, Hou Yifan and Manuel Pérez Candelario are playing.

The tournament is the main event of the Festival Internacional Ruy López, which was held for the first time last year, then in Zafra (Extremadura), birth place of Ruy López. (Because the tourney is a memorial for this Spanish priest of course.) Then, Gabriel Sargissian won with a fantastic 6.5 / 7 (performance rating 3021)! Read full story>>

All is set for RP's Battle of Grandmasters

by Manny Benitez

EVERYTHING is ready for the Battle of Grandmasters being organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines, NCFP executive director Willy Abalos has announced. The much-awaited tournament—the first of its kind under the present dispensation—is scheduled to be held from April 19 to 30 at the Manila Pavilion on UN Avenue in Ermita.

Abalos told The Weekender that 12 leading male players, including six of the country’s seven grandmasters, have each made a definite commitment to play in the tournament.

On the distaff side, he said 12 of a short list of 14 amazons have made the same commitment.

Here is the lineup for the Men’s Division: GMs Wesley So (2540), Mark Paragua (2537), Joey Antonio (2529), Eugene Torre (2519), Jayson Gonzales (2467), and Bong Villamayor (2425); IMs John Paul Gomez (2464) and Julio Catalino Sadorra (2455); FM Fernie Donguines (2362); and NMs Rolando Nolte (2420), Oliver Barbosa (2403) and Hamed Nouri (2392).

Here are the women who have pledged to join the mixed tournament: Catherine Pereña (2334), Sherily (2107) and Shercila Cua (2201), Rulp Ylem Jose (2044), Jenny Rose Paloma, Jedara Docena, Aices Salvador (1998), WIM Beverly Mendoza (2072), Chardine Cheradee Camacho (2106), Kimberly Jane Cunanan, Christy Lamiel Bernales, and Enerose Magno. Abalos said he was also inviting Loreshyl Cuison and WFM Sheerie Joy Lomibao, but he had not heard from them.

On the other development around the Metro,

HARIDAS PASCUA, 15, scored a perfect 7/7 to top the First Mayor Alfredo Lim Cup Rapid yesterday in Manila.

Favorite Raymond Salcedo ended up second with 6.5, followed by Christopher Castellano, Gary Legaspi and Jan Emmanuel Garcia.

Surveys Ends

Hi there!

Our survey ended yesterday, April 6, 2008 and we had a number of respondents for our very first poll. We asked the readers this simple question: who is your favorite contemporary chess heroes? Out of 7 respondents, we had 3 who said they like Anand while Kramnik and Carlsen had two votes.

Thanks for participating people! Thanks!

The King's Queen

It is said that behind every man's success, is a woman. But for Aruna Anand, playing a role of a wife to her husbands conquest was not in anyway can be compared to those Josephine's role to Napoleon--sacrificing his queen.


The woman behind the master

Shubha Shetty-Saha
Sunday, April 06, 2008 17:30 IST

Aruna Vishwanathan plays many roles in hubby and chess maestro Vishwanathan Anand’s life, apart from being a dutiful wife
She gave up a job in advertising to help her sportsman husband, chess grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand, build his career. “Since chess is a very tough sport and takes up a lot of his mental energy, I just try to make things easier for him. I handle his correspondence and logistics. Since time is at a premium, I ensure he enjoys his free time and also relaxes,” says Aruna Vishwanathan.

Aruna says after her marriage it was a natural progression for her to take care of her husband’s work. “As he played more and more tournaments, the stakes kept getting higher. He needed to give his 100 percent to his game. It was practical that we share the work. So I travel with him too, as we both enjoy travelling,” she says.

As a sportsman’s spouse, you get affected by his victory and defeat, perhaps even more than him.

“When the going gets tough, you have to learn to let go and not put your feelings first. When Anand has had a tough tournament he always tells me, ‘It must have been really tough for you.’ I think it is these moments that bring two people together.” However, there is one thing that Aruna could do without, “The tension!” she says.

Even though she independently handles his work, she needs to consult him for everything. She says, “From the colour of the walls to more important matters, we discuss everything. Even when he is playing, I make a list of things we need to talk about when he is free.

Here is the full story.

10th Dubai Open 2008

All eyes on the 14 year old and current Philippines no.1, GM Wesley So in the ongoing 10th Dubai Open. This is the first tournament GM So is competing since taking over the position as the country's top wood pusher. He won the first round and will play FM Xibin Wu next. Other Filipinos also playing are IM Sadorra, FM Molina, Jobannie Tabada, Ernesto Yap and Robert Arellano.


by Jobannie Tabada

Philippine No.1 GM Wesley So will join the 10th Dubai Open 2008 event along with Singapore-based IM Julio Catalino Sadorra, who is seeking his second GM norm.

GM So arrived with his father William in Dubai at 3:30 this morning, while Sadorra flew in at midnight. They were welcomed at the airport by a delegation from the Filipino Chess Players League-UAE, which consisted of Joey Tibertio, Emman Marbella, Jerry Lababo, Ernie Yap, Willie Laceste and Francis Aldeguer, along with Fide Ratings Administrator Casto "Toti" Abundo, who in coordination with the FCPL facilitated the visiting players' requirements in the UAE. Read Full Story

Kasparov played some games

Last week, Garry Kasparov was to be found behind a chess board again. In Pasching (Austria) and in Hluboka (Czech Republic) he played simultanious exhibitions and of the latter one we have some game fragments.

28th-29th March, Kasparov took part in the “Days of Chess” festival, held in a big shopping centre in Pasching, Austria. On Friday the 28th, it started with the two boxing world champions Vitali and Vladimir Klitschko showing their fondness of the game of chess. Garry Kasparov was then supposed to play Alfred Gusenbauer, but the Austrian Chancellor had to cancel on the last minute. Instead, Garry played one of the spectators (who must have felt the happiest man on earth). Read Full Story>>

The Shortest Chess Game

The shortest chess game recorded lasted for only one move. It was played between Rogoff and Huber in 1972.

The Oldest Chess Book

Luis Ramirez de Lucena (c. 1465 – c.1530) was a leading Spanish chess player. He wrote the oldest existing printed book on chess, Repetición de Amores y Arte de Ajedrez con ci Iuegos de Partido, published in Salamanca in 1497. The book contains analysis of eleven chess openings but contains many elementary errors that led chess historian Harold Murray to suggest that it was prepared in a hurry. The book was written when the rules of chess were taking their modern form (see Origins of modern chess), and some of the 150 positions in the book are of the old game and some of the new. Fewer than a dozen copies of the book exist.

The Lucena position is named after him, even though it does not appear in his book. (It was first published in 1634 by Alessandro Salvio.) The Smothered mate named Philidor's legacy is in the book.

Source: Wikipedia

Kramnik beat Werle and Sebag in simul exhibition match

Kramnik, V (2788) - Werle, J (2581) [E05]
DGT Clock Simul Enschede NED (1), 02.04.2008

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0–0 6.0–0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Ra7 11.a3 Be4 12.Qc1 Nc6 13.e3 Qa8 14.Qd1 Nd5 15.Qe2 e5 16.Re1 exd4 17.exd4 f5 18.Nc3 Nxc3 19.Bxc3 Bf6 20.d5 Bxc3 21.bxc3 Nd8 22.Rad1 Bxd5 23.Ng5 c6 24.Bxd5+ cxd5 25.Qd3 h6 26.Nf3 f4 27.Nh4 fxg3 28.hxg3 Nf7 29.Nf5 Ng5 30.Ne7+ Rxe7 31.Rxe7 Nf3+ 32.Kf1 d4 33.Qg6 Nh2+ 34.Ke1 Nf3+ 35.Ke2 Ng1+ 36.Kf1 Rxf2+ 37.Kxf2 Nh3+ 38.Ke1 1–0

Kramnik, V (2788) - Sebag, M (2521) [D19]
DGT Clock Simul Enschede NED (1), 02.04.2008

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.a4 dxc4 5.Nc3 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.0–0 0–0 9.Qe2 Bg6 10.Ne5 Nbd7 11.Nxg6 hxg6 12.Rd1 Qa5 13.Qc2 c5 14.Na2 cxd4 15.Nxb4 Qxb4 16.Rxd4 Rac8 17.Qe2 Qb6 18.a5 Qc7 19.a6 e5 20.axb7 exd4 21.bxc8Q Rxc8 22.b3 Nb6 23.exd4 Nxc4 24.bxc4 Qxc4 25.Qxc4 Rxc4 26.Be3 Rc7 27.Ra5 Rd7 28.Kf1 Nd5 29.Ke2 f6 30.Kd3 Kf7 31.h3 Ke6 32.Ra6+ Nb6 33.g4 g5 34.f4 gxf4 35.Bxf4 Kf7 36.h4 g5 37.hxg5 Nd5 38.Bd6 fxg5 39.Ke4 Nc3+ 40.Ke5 Nb5 41.Bc5 Rd8 42.Ra5 Rb8 43.d5 Rb7 44.d6 Ke8 45.Ke6 Kd8 46.Be3 Ke8 47.Bc5 Kd8 48.Bxa7 Nxa7 49.Rxg5 1–0

14 year old GM Wesley So is Philippines no.1 chess player

14 year old GM tops the list of Filipino chess masters in 2008 FIDE ratings with 2540. The current worlds youngest Grandmaster and the seventh youngest in history proves himself as the next big thing to come out of Philippine chess. Our hopes and prayers for the new RP chess sensation, GM Wesley So.







Rank Name Rating
1 So, Wesley 2540
2 Paragua, Mark 2537
3 Antonio, Rogelio Jr 2529
4 Torre, Eugenio 2519
5 Sanchez, Joseph 2507
6 Laylo, Darwin 2496
7 Dimakiling, Oliver 2479
8 Gonzales, Jayson 2467
9 Gomez, John Paul 2464
10 Sadorra, Julio Catalino 2455
11 Martinez, Rolly 2453
12 Salvador, Roland 2450
13 Dableo, Ronald 2444
14 Bitoon, Richard 2420
14 Nolte, Rolando 2420
16 Bancod, Ronald 2411
17 Causo, Deniel 2410
18 Elorta, David 2409
19 Ballecer, Dino 2406
20 Barbosa, Oliver 2403
21 Fernandez, Ernesto 2398
22 Nadera, Barlo A. 2397
23 Nouri, Hamed 2392
24 Ranola, Yves 2390
25 De Guzman, Ricardo 2389
26 Garma, Chito 2386
27 Senador, Emmanuel 2383
28 Young, Angelo 2381
29 Donguines, Fernie 2362
30 Sevillano, Voltaire 2358
31 Nava, Roderick 2345
32 Severino, Sander 2344
33 Lluch, Victor 2339
34 Banawa, Jouaquin 2338
35 Del Mundo, Anton Paolo C. 2334
36 Salubre, Jason 2329
37 Bagamasbad, Efren 2322
38 Yap, Kim Steven 2321
39 Makinano, Anthony 2320
40 Ortiz, Eduardo 2316
40 Cabe, Arlan 2316
42 Legaspi, Rhobel 2315
43 Salcedo, Raymond 2312
43 Sales, Jesse Noel 2312
43 Atutubo, Rodrigo 2312
46 Tolentino, Rustum 2304
47 Montoyo, Ted Ian 2297
48 De Ramos, Julius 2290
49 Segarra, Randy 2286
50 Tan, Oscar 2283
51 Pialan, Fernandito 2281
52 Llavanes, Ronald 2271
53 Vuelban, Virgilio 2270
54 Maga, Mirabeau 2267
55 Paulo, James Florendo 2257
56 Castellano, Christopher 2248
56 Milagrosa, Alexander 2248
58 Villanueva, Nelson 2239
59 Perena, Catherine 2234
60 Yadao, Israel 2228
60 Andador, A. 2228
62 Garcia, Jan Emmanuel 2213
63 Branzuela, Ali 2209
64 Cantonjos, Allan 2205
65 Cua, Shercila 2203
66 Andador, Rolando 2201
67 Roque, Merben 2194
68 Panopio, Jr Rodolfo 2187
69 Lomibao, Sheerie Joy 2185
70 Suelo, Roberto Jr. 2183
71 Ochoa, Carl Victor 2182
72 Dela Cruz, Richard 2177
73 Abundo, Casto 2175
74 Pascua, Haridas 2174
75 Diez, Boris Michael 2170
76 Bernardino J., Al 2169
77 Molina, Antonio 2150
78 Adoptante, Roderick 2146
79 Morazo, John Ranel 2144
79 Manon-og, Ramon Jr. 2144
79 Adante, Ibaryu 2144
82 Cunanan, Homer 2133
83 Cua, Sherily 2132
84 Lincoln, Yap 2107
85 Camacho, Chardine Cheradee 2106
86 Mendoza, Beverly 2072
87 Baltazar, Danny 2068
88 Fernandez, Dandel 2066
89 Tabada, Jobannie C. 2057
90 Mariano, Cristine Rose 2054
91 Pimentel, Joel 2050
92 Jose, Rulp Ylem 2044
93 Yap, Ernesto M. 2038
94 Ringor, Rodrigo 2032
95 Arellano, Robert 2023
96 Jacquias, Percival 2013
97 Natividad, Rafael 2012
98 Taopa, Gilbert 2001
99 Salvador, Aices 1998
100 Calacday, Eric 1990

Click below for GM Wesley So's updated FIDE rating card:
http://www.fide.com/ratings/card.phtml?event=5202213

On This Day April 4, 1975

On This Day April 4, 1975: The Times reports on Bobby Fischer being stripped of the world chess champion title

The International Chess Federation (Fide) today declared Anatoly Karpov, the Russian challenger, to be world chess champion after Bobby Fischer, of America, had failed to meet the extended deadline given by Fide within which he had to agree to meet Karpov to defend his title.

“We have sent Karpov a telegram informing him that he has been awarded the title, and congratulating him,” Dr Max Euwe, Fide’s president, said today in Amsterdam. He did not conceal his disappointment, but said that Fide had left no stone unturned in its attempt to negotiate a compromise agreement.

Karpov said today that he was glad the chess crown had returned to the Soviet Union but regretted that he did not get to play Fischer for it. He said he could not understand why Fischer did not play the match. “I wanted this match to take place very much and I think I have done all I could for this.”

There was silence today from South Pasadena, California, where Fischer normally lives. But several other American chess players have been expressing regret over the sequence of events which led to his losing the world title.

“It’s tragic for Fischer, for chess in the world and for Karpov,” Colonel Edmund Edmundson, the director of the American Chess Federation, has said. “Poor Fischer won’t have his title, Karpov will have a paper title, and the world won’t have its match. We’re all losers.”

Source: The Times

Kasparov's blunder

The blunder may not be as bad as it might seem because if the mistake Kasparov made during this match is hopeless, Kasparov may quickly offered his hand in resignation. So what exactly happened here? Kasparov's blunder may only result in a material loss, perhaps a pawn or the move shattered his position. Others believed that Anand took a pawn with his queen which threatened to take away Kasparov's 2 rooks or the queen. Is this true? If anyone had a more accurate allusion of the match, please feel free to share your knowledge with us.

Fool me once shame on you; fool me twice shame on me.

So your's truly, the one who was very "seriously" in responsible for keeping this blog was fooled not once, but twice, on the very first day of April also known as April Fools' Day. Of course the first came as a news about Bobby Fischer's supposed "electronic archives". The whole story or should I say joke started at chessbase.com site which they first published the article of course on April 1st. The entire joke of the supposed "email letters" of Fischer could be find HERE.

Then of course the final blow was the news that Susan's Polgar's is leaving the USCF and the USA to return to Hungary. The joke is HERE. And the relief and laughter ends HERE. And that folks completed my idiocy of that day. LOL!!!

Bobby Fischer, chess genius, heartless son?

Here's another chess news archives I read about Bobby Fischer's past troubled life that I want to share with everyone. Among them was one about letters from his mother, Regina, to a friend describing her difficult relationship with her son. Since Fischer death last January the commemoration and even some degradation of his life continues up until now with varied opinion about the real contribution of Fischer to the world. Is it his contribution to chess that matters most or his compulsive negative remarks on political and social issues few had even despises of. But the fact is the truth about the real Bobby Fischer, the chess genius we all know are beginning to take shape. Sad, and even harrowing truth that slowly shadowed his brilliances on the board. Again, the articles may not be for the fainted hearted for all those who canonized Fischer. It's just another peek to the past life of an individual with a brilliant but troubled mind.

Anand at 2803 Alone on Top in April 2008 FIDE Rating List

No one would doubt now on who's the best in chess at this time. With a rating of 2803 in the 1st April FIDE Rating list, current world champion Viswanathan Anand recaptured top slot alone and to remain the only active player above 2800. Though his below average performance at Amber, a "fun" tournaments that doesn't affect ones rating, his victory of Morelia Linares propelled him at the top of the list. His rival at the top spot for three months, Russian Vladimir Kramnik lost eleven points but still held the second place, 15 points behind Anand. But with an upcoming event in Dortmund, Kramnik is expected to get closer or even catch up with Anand before their championship match later this year.

And oh by the way, perhaps one of the most interesting story is the 32 points surge of the 17 year old wunderkid Magnus Carlsen who is now the worlds 5th best. Meanwhile, other top players in the list includes Morozevich who is now third after winning nine points; he passed Topalov who lost thirteen. Aronian climbed from ten to six; Radjabov from twelve to eight. Svidler, who was fifth, went down to the ninth place. Leko went from eight to ten and Karjakin climbed one spot without playing a rated game.

Here are the new top 100, the female top 50, the juniors top 20 and the girls top 20.

FIDE APRIL 2008 RATING LIST: TOP 100 PLAYERS

Rank	Name	Title	Country	Rating	Games	B-Year
1	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2803	27	1969
2	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2788	13	1975
3	Morozevich, Alexander	g	RUS	2774	11	1977
4	Topalov, Veselin	g	BUL	2767	27	1975
5	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2765	27	1990
6	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2763	27	1982
7	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	g	AZE	2752	13	1985
8	Radjabov, Teimour	g	AZE	2751	27	1987
9	Svidler, Peter	g	RUS	2746	11	1976
10	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2741	27	1979
11	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2740	35	1969
12	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2740	14	1972
13	Karjakin, Sergey	g	UKR	2732	0	1990
14	Adams, Michael	g	ENG	2729	13	1971
15	Kamsky, Gata	g	USA	2726	0	1974
16	Gelfand, Boris	g	ISR	2723	13	1968
17	Ponomariov, Ruslan	g	UKR	2719	0	1983
18	Grischuk, Alexander	g	RUS	2716	11	1983
19	Jakovenko, Dmitry	g	RUS	2711	11	1983
20	Alekseev, Evgeny	g	RUS	2711	0	1985
21	Bu, Xiangzhi	g	CHN	2708	16	1985
22	Bacrot, Etienne	g	FRA	2705	13	1983
23	Ni, Hua	g	CHN	2703	28	1983
24	Movsesian, Sergei	g	SVK	2695	29	1978
25	Dominguez Perez, Lenier	g	CUB	2695	15	1983
26	Cheparinov, Ivan	g	BUL	2695	13	1986
27	Rublevsky, Sergei	g	RUS	2695	0	1974
28	Sokolov, Ivan	g	NED	2690	1	1968
29	Milov, Vadim	g	SUI	2690	0	1972
30	Wang, Yue	g	CHN	2689	33	1987
31	Malakhov, Vladimir	g	RUS	2689	5	1980
32	Eljanov, Pavel	g	UKR	2687	13	1983
33	Nakamura, Hikaru	g	USA	2686	17	1987
34	Wang, Hao	g	CHN	2684	25	1989
35	Inarkiev, Ernesto	g	RUS	2684	20	1985
36	Volokitin, Andrei	g	UKR	2684	16	1986
37	Vallejo Pons, Francisco	g	ESP	2684	7	1982
38	Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter	g	ROU	2684	0	1976
39	Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	g	UZB	2681	0	1979
40	Harikrishna, P.	g	IND	2679	30	1986
41	Gashimov, Vugar	g	AZE	2679	18	1986
42	Sasikiran, Krishnan	g	IND	2679	5	1981
43	Bareev, Evgeny	g	RUS	2677	0	1966
44	Van Wely, Loek	g	NED	2676	15	1972
45	Nikolic, Predrag	g	BIH	2674	17	1960
46	Almasi, Zoltan	g	HUN	2674	9	1976
47	Zvjaginsev, Vadim	g	RUS	2674	9	1976
48	Akopian, Vladimir	g	ARM	2673	17	1971
49	Navara, David	g	CZE	2672	9	1985
50	Fedorchuk, Sergey A.	g	UKR	2671	24	1981
51	Motylev, Alexander	g	RUS	2666	18	1979
52	Bologan, Viktor	g	MDA	2665	19	1971
53	Georgiev, Kiril	g	BUL	2665	10	1965
54	Timofeev, Artyom	g	RUS	2664	29	1985
55	Onischuk, Alexander	g	USA	2664	0	1975
56	Efimenko, Zahar	g	UKR	2660	19	1985
57	Short, Nigel D	g	ENG	2660	13	1965
58	Roiz, Michael	g	ISR	2659	9	1983
59	Jobava, Baadur	g	GEO	2658	25	1983
60	Tomashevsky, Evgeny	g	RUS	2658	11	1987
61	Dreev, Alexey	g	RUS	2657	20	1969
62	Lautier, Joel	g	FRA	2657	0	1973
63	Tkachiev, Vladislav	g	FRA	2657	0	1973
64	Fressinet, Laurent	g	FRA	2656	0	1981
65	Karpov, Anatoly	g	RUS	2655	0	1951
66	Korneev, Oleg	g	RUS	2651	44	1969
67	Predojevic, Borki	g	BIH	2651	27	1987
68	Moiseenko, Alexander	g	UKR	2650	27	1980
69	Areshchenko, Alexander	g	UKR	2650	19	1986
70	Postny, Evgeny	g	ISR	2649	16	1981
71	Sakaev, Konstantin	g	RUS	2649	11	1974
72	Ivanisevic, Ivan	g	SRB	2649	0	1977
73	Baklan, Vladimir	g	UKR	2647	0	1978
74	Afromeev, Vladimir	f	RUS	2646	0	1954
75	Socko, Bartosz	g	POL	2644	26	1978
76	Sargissian, Gabriel	g	ARM	2643	20	1983
77	Miroshnichenko, Evgenij	g	UKR	2642	18	1978
78	Beliavsky, Alexander G	g	SLO	2641	26	1953
79	Fridman, Daniel	g	GER	2640	10	1976
80	Zhang, Pengxiang	g	CHN	2640	0	1980
81	Delchev, Aleksander	g	BUL	2639	9	1971
82	Riazantsev, Alexander	g	RUS	2638	18	1985
83	Mchedlishvili, Mikheil	g	GEO	2635	0	1979
84	Tiviakov, Sergei	g	NED	2634	26	1973
85	Nepomniachtchi, Ian	g	RUS	2634	22	1990
86	Shabalov, Alexander	g	USA	2633	22	1967
87	Landa, Konstantin	g	RUS	2633	19	1972
88	Volkov, Sergey	g	RUS	2633	18	1974
89	Avrukh, Boris	g	ISR	2632	9	1978
90	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	g	FRA	2632	9	1990
91	Asrian, Karen	g	ARM	2630	29	1980
92	Sutovsky, Emil	g	ISR	2630	16	1977
93	Smirin, Ilia	g	ISR	2630	14	1968
94	Solak, Dragan	g	SRB	2630	9	1980
95	Seirawan, Yasser	g	USA	2630	1	1960
96	Tregubov, Pavel V.	g	RUS	2629	16	1971
97	Nielsen, Peter Heine	g	DEN	2629	5	1973
98	Sadvakasov, Darmen	g	KAZ	2629	3	1979
99	Khalifman, Alexander	g	RUS	2628	9	1966
100	Istratescu, Andrei	g	ROU	2628	7	1975

FIDE APRIL 2008 RATING LIST: TOP 100 WOMEN

Title	Country	Rating	Games	B-Year
1	Polgar, Judit	g	HUN	2709	13	1976
2	Koneru, Humpy	g	IND	2603	13	1987
3	Hou, Yifan	wg	CHN	2549	22	1994
4	Cramling, Pia	g	SWE	2539	38	1963
5	Stefanova, Antoaneta	g	BUL	2538	35	1979
6	Zhao, Xue	wg	CHN	2523	17	1985
7	Kosteniuk, Alexandra	g	RUS	2523	0	1984
8	Sebag, Marie	m	FRA	2521	13	1986
9	Zhu, Chen	g	QAT	2521	10	1976
10	Socko, Monika	m	POL	2505	33	1978
11	Xu, Yuhua	g	CHN	2500	0	1976
12	Kosintseva, Tatiana	m	RUS	2497	11	1986
13	Ruan, Lufei	wg	CHN	2495	0	1987
14	Chiburdanidze, Maia	g	GEO	2489	0	1961
15	Muzychuk, Anna	m	SLO	2486	34	1990
16	Krush, Irina	m	USA	2479	34	1983
17	Danielian, Elina	m	ARM	2479	18	1978
18	Lahno, Kateryna	g	UKR	2479	18	1989
19	Hoang Thanh Trang	g	HUN	2477	10	1980
20	Ushenina, Anna	m	UKR	2474	39	1985
21	Pogonina, Natalija	wg	RUS	2470	38	1985
22	Kosintseva, Nadezhda	m	RUS	2468	11	1985
23	Korbut, Ekaterina	m	RUS	2467	11	1985
24	Cmilyte, Viktorija	m	LTU	2466	21	1983
25	Javakhishvili, Lela	m	GEO	2466	18	1984
26	Vijayalakshmi, Subbaraman	m	IND	2464	0	1979
27	Harika, Dronavalli	m	IND	2461	48	1991
28	Galliamova, Alisa	m	RUS	2460	0	1972
29	Zatonskih, Anna	m	USA	2458	0	1978
30	Peng, Zhaoqin	g	NED	2455	15	1968
31	Hunt, Harriet V	m	ENG	2454	7	1978
32	Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan	m	SCO	2452	19	1968
33	Zhukova, Natalia	wg	UKR	2450	9	1979
34	Paehtz, Elisabeth	m	GER	2449	25	1985
35	Dzagnidze, Nana	m	GEO	2443	32	1987
36	Skripchenko, Almira	m	FRA	2443	0	1976
37	Gaponenko, Inna	m	UKR	2442	18	1976
38	Shen, Yang	wg	CHN	2439	17	1989
39	Huang, Qian	wg	CHN	2438	14	1986
40	Ovod, Evgenija	m	RUS	2437	30	1982
41	Bojkovic, Natasa	m	SRB	2434	9	1971
42	Dembo, Yelena	m	GRE	2429	18	1983
43	Tania, Sachdev	m	IND	2423	35	1986
44	Li, Ruofan	wg	SIN	2423	25	1978
45	Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina	m	RUS	2421	20	1974
46	Matveeva, Svetlana	m	RUS	2420	29	1969
47	Shadrina, Tatiana	wg	RUS	2418	11	1974
48	Peptan, Corina-Isabela	m	ROU	2415	9	1978
49	Wang, Pin	wg	CHN	2415	0	1974
50	Melia, Salome	wg	GEO	2413	30	1987
51	Khurtsidze, Nino	m	GEO	2413	21	1975
52	Mkrtchian, Lilit	m	ARM	2413	9	1982
53	Vajda, Szidonia	m	HUN	2413	2	1979

FIDE APRIL 2008 RATING LIST: TOP 20 JUNIORS

Rank	Name	Title	Country	Rating	Games	B-Year
1	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2765	27	1990
2	Karjakin, Sergey	g	UKR	2732	0	1990
3	Wang, Hao	g	CHN	2684	25	1989
4	Nepomniachtchi, Ian	g	RUS	2634	22	1990
5	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	g	FRA	2632	9	1990
6	Rodshtein, Maxim	g	ISR	2626	35	1989
7	Caruana, Fabiano	g	ITA	2620	42	1992
8	Mamedov, Rauf	g	AZE	2617	27	1988
9	Kuzubov, Yuriy	g	UKR	2603	18	1990
10	Popov, Ivan	g	RUS	2594	11	1990
11	Lenic, Luka	g	SLO	2584	18	1988
12	Baramidze, David	g	GER	2583	9	1988
13	Li, Chao b	g	CHN	2581	28	1989
14	Zhou, Jianchao	g	CHN	2580	23	1988
15	Andreikin, Dmitry	g	RUS	2580	18	1990
16	Nguyen, Ngoc Truong Son	g	VIE	2579	25	1990
17	Le, Quang Liem	g	VIE	2568	24	1991
18	Zhigalko, Sergei	g	BLR	2568	22	1989
19	Geetha Narayanan Gopal	g	IND	2562	27	1989
20	Amin, Bassem	g	EGY	2558	10	1988

FIDE APRIL 2008 RATING LIST: TOP 20 GIRLS

Rank	Name	Title	Country	Rating	Games	B-Year
1	Hou, Yifan	wg	CHN	2549	22	1994
2	Muzychuk, Anna	m	SLO	2486	34	1990
3	Lahno, Kateryna	g	UKR	2479	18	1989
4	Harika, Dronavalli	m	IND	2461	48	1991
5	Shen, Yang	wg	CHN	2439	17	1989
6	Tairova, Elena	m	RUS	2412	29	1991
7	Muzychuk, Mariya	wg	UKR	2387	18	1992
8	Foisor, Sabina-Francesca	wg	ROU	2375	39	1989
9	Ju, Wenjun		CHN	2374	9	1991
10	Vasilkova, Svetlana	wm	RUS	2373	16	1988
11	Charochkina, Daria	wm	RUS	2361	44	1990
12	Girya, Olga	wf	RUS	2361	20	1991
13	Zhang, Xiaowen	wm	CHN	2361	18	1989
14	Tan, Zhongyi		CHN	2353	0	1991
15	Bodnaruk, Anastasia	wf	RUS	2347	36	1992
16	Paikidze, Nazi	wf	GEO	2347	25	1993
17	Stock, Lara	wm	CRO	2346	0	1992
18	Nebolsina, Vera	wg	RUS	2345	8	1989
19	Nemcova, Katerina	wm	CZE	2344	23	1990
20	Majdan, Joanna	wm	POL	2338	22	1988

For everyone who made it at the top of the world, cheers!