There is nothing stopping anybody else from getting "easy" rating points by playing weaker opponents, there are enough open tournaments to do this.

A small correction It should be Wang Yue ON sunday rather than Wangyue sunday :)

I can't understand why a player of Wang Yue's caliber would participate in such an event. Maybe this is what he thinks of himself. He should really concentrate on tougher challenges.

Is it even fair game for a Super Grandmaster to play here?

come now he drew a 2483 ;P

@chessobserver Let's remember where he is from. I would guess it's the government's order.

Hey it was not that weak of a tournament. Second was just hundred points behind. Somebody's have to be number uno.

As I know, Yue Wang (Wang is his last name) is a college student. The school is TianJing University (Very good school in China). If he likes, he could join this tournment. I believe that the organizers would be very happy and so do the low rating player. The unhappy players must be the players who had chance to be the champion. right?

Wang Yue ,will play in the October Pearl Spring Tournament in NanJing

Why should anyone be unhappy?

"First-class players lose to second-class players because second-class players sometimes play a first-class game." - Siegbert Tarrasch

Come on guys, this is heavy overkill and a cheap way of winning rating points. Used to do that myself ;)

definitely not cheap. the average rating he faced is similar to that of a strong open, which members of the ever-growing 2700 club are starting to play in more frequently with the lack of invites. the only difference is that hardly any of them would come close to his 8.5/9 which is kind of ridiculous. beating grandmasters with black is a hard task for anyone not named Kasparov; especially if they want a draw

Ok, thats fine. But please inform me: What is Wang Yue studying apart from chess?

@ron: At the very least, there is no guarantee for gaining rating points. To put Wang Yue's result into some context:
- he scored 8.5/9 against average Elo 2513, gaining 15.5 points
- At the Dresden Olympiad, Carlsen played an average of 2624 (stronger than Wang Yue's opponents, but weaker than 'typical opponents' of both players), scored 7.5/11 and lost three Elo points
- At the 2009 Canadian Open, Shirov played an average of 2467, scored 6/8 and lost 4.5 Elo points.

@Jens Kristiansen: As I wrote before, Wang Yue may well be a "fake student" - maybe this is also the case for some other players in the field? There are also fake students, fake military members etc. in other sports ... .

easy rating points

@chessobserver: I do not quite understand this discussion. Some people complain that super-GMs hardly face subtop players, now you criticize Wang Yue for doing just that. Makes me wonder: Do you always win against players that are 200 points higher-rated, do you "resign before move 1" against 200 points higher-rated players? I presume that your own chess strength gives you both types of opposition :) .

It's not like Vallejo Pons playing three amateur events late in 2008 to score 18/18 and gain 20 Elo points (all but one of his opponents were more than 350 points below his level).

@john: You may still have a point. How is "student" defined for this competition? Is it enough to be enrolled at a university, or do players also have to prove regular attendance, study activity or even progress?

I don't understand the criticism here. Wang Yue represented his country and University with dignity, and in the process playing some fine Chess. His presence in this tournament (which was superbly organized with a lot of care) enchances the quality and is a good promotion for future editions. Furthermore, it gives an opportunity for IM's and other GM's to meet and play against a star like him.

I beleive that Top GM's must no only play between themselves but also promotes Chess in different scenarios (like Carlsen's FAW challenge, like the Olympiad, like the local Leagues, etc.).

Go Panda!.

OK, let's end this usless discussion. Wang Yue is a great player and "Ron" certainly is not!

Wang Yue is learning communication studies at Nankai Universities, which actually is one of the best private colleges in China.
(source - Wikipedia)

He got enrolled a few years back so it's not that he "became" a student just to play in tournaments for students.

@ron I think it is a hard way to win ratingpoints since you have to score extremely high. I think it is easier to win rating points to play against opponents rated 200 points higher and then hope you can win one game or draw a couple of games.

Beautiful by Wang Yue in his 2nd round game against Kurmann, beginning with 27 Na4xc5!! and ending with 32 Ra1-a7! 1-0.

Sergio, you are absolutely right. The risk for the Panda playing here was huge but the undertook with courage.

I'd guess that China's Chess Federation paid for the trip or something (maybe)... or the tournament had a particularly attractive prize fund (doubt it.)

Playing down 200 pts against 2500 juniors is not easy pickins...

- A 2500 is strong enough to finish a good position, if the 2700 makes a non-trivial boo-boo.
- Juniors tend to be underrated and tactically dangerous. Their variance tends to be larger. For instance, Wang Yue would probably score better against nine 55 year-old 2500s than 9 juniors.
- The lower rated player has draw odds, in effect; e.g. he can choose an ultra-solid opening as White, daring the higher rated player to give up elo in a draw.