Saturday, January 31, 2009

Corus 2009 round 11: Wesley So back on top, Anish Giri, 12th youngest grandmaster.

Maurice Ashley: Look at Garry Kasparov. After he loses, invariably he wins the next game. He just kills the next guy. That's something that we have to learn to be able to do

If there is one person in the whole wide world who have already buried for good the painful memory of Wesley So's loss in round 9, that person is no other than Wesley himself (people are still freaking mad over the blunder!). When was the last time we've seen a young grandmaster who, after suffering a setback would cruises to three straight wins with apparent ease? Now, Wesley So, all 15 years of him found himself within striking distance of winning his first major tournament in the European soil. But first thing first there is T. Hillarp Persson on his path, the erstwhile leader of the tournament who is eager for a victory after a shock defeat to Ali Bitalzadeh, the lowest rated in the group with a mere rating of 2400. 2010 Group B is beckoning. Meanwhile, 14 year old FM Anish Giri, a Russian of Nepalese decent and resides in the Netherlands now joins the elite groups of chess prodigies who made to the list of the youngest grandmasters in history. It was a leap frog for Anish since he is also one of those players who earned a grandmaster title without ever awarded the title of an International Master. And he earned it in less than a year! Stars of the future are being born in Corus.

Standings after 11 rounds:

Corus A

1. L. Aronian, L. Dominguez, T. Radjabov, S. Movsesian 6½
5. M. Carlsen, S. Karjakin 6
7. G. Kamsky, J. Smeets 5½
9. V. Ivanchuk, L. van Wely, M. Adams 5
12. D. Stellwagen, Y. Wang 4½
14. A. Morozevich 4

Corus B

1. N. Short 7½
2. F. Caruana, R. Kasimdzhanov 7
4. A. Volokitin, A. Motylev, F. Vallejo Pons 6½
7. D. Navara 6
8. Z. Efimenko 5½
9. D. Reinderman, E. l'Ami 5
11. Y. Hou 4½
12. H. Mecking, J. Werle 3½
14. K. Sasikiran 3

Corus C

1. W. So 8
2. T. Hillarp Persson 7½
3. A. Giri 7
4. D. Howell, F. Holzke 6
6. A. Gupta, D. Harika, M. Bosboom 5½
9. M. Leon Hoyos 5
10. F. Nijboer, E. Iturrizaga, A. Bitalzadeh, R. Pruijssers 4½
14. O. Romanishin 3

Offficial website: www.coruschess.com

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