Wesley So on his way to victory at "Battle of GMs"
Wesley So is well on his way to tournament victory at the Phoenix Petroleum & Dapitan City "Battle of Grandmasters", or in other words: the Philippine Championship. The 15-year-old is 1.5 point clear of GMs Antonio and Torre. But... his draw against Antonio was nullified and has to be replayed.
The Phoenix Petroleum & Dapitan City "Battle of Grandmasters" takes place March 24-31 in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte, south of the Philippines. The prize fund is P850,000 (about 13,280 Euros).
It's a 12-player round-robin consisting of 8 GMs and 4 IMs, including the legendary Eugenio Torre who had a big succes in September last year when he won the 3rd President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (PGMA) Cup.
15-year-old GM Wesley So, who won the prestigeous Corus Grandmaster Group C this year, is leading the field half a point clear of GMs Antonio and Torre at the Battle of GMs after ten of the eleven rounds.
[TABLE=686]
But... something's wrong with this table. What is it? Well, the result between Antonio and So has not been entered. In fact, the two had played a 22-move draw in round 6 but this result was nullified as games apparently need to last at least 30 moves at this tournament, As reported by Chessdom, the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and its President Prospero Pichay decided the results should not stand and the game has to be replayed.
Apparently there are more specific rules being applied at this tournament but unfortunately we haven't been able to find a tournament website. And so we have to end with the famous "to be continued..."
Games of Wesley So round 1-5
Somehow So's play reminds of Fischer's style: logical, clean and deceptively simple. Another similarity with the former American prodigy and world champion is that at 15, So doesn't mind at all entering the endgame. It's still amazing when you realize that the young Philippine never really had a coach and just learnt chess by using the computer.
Founder and editor-in-chief of ChessVibes.com, Peter is responsible for most of the chess news and tournament reports. Often visiting top events, he also provides photos and videos for the site. He's a 1.e4 player himself, likes Thai food and the Stones.
Comments
CAL|Daniel
2 years 10 months ago
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I must agree with Peter the first thought after playing through Torre-So was wow he makes this look easy! Then I saw peter's comment about Fisher.
GuidedByVoices
2 years 10 months ago
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Fischer play was anything but simple... Where does that silly sentence come from? What's the evidence supporting it? Give me a break!
JM
2 years 10 months ago
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The game between Antonio and So has to be replayed, not the game between Antonio and Torre.
Peter Doggers
2 years 10 months ago
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thx - corrected.
Stephen
2 years 10 months ago
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very impressive. I thought ay first "oh no, not another comparison to Fisher." but having played through the games, I can see what you are driving at. It's all so easy ! (So why can't I play like that ?!)
totoy bato
2 years 10 months ago
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So? so what!
Peter Doggers
2 years 10 months ago
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Castro
2 years 10 months ago
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(Still problems, posting...)
Peter Doggers
2 years 10 months ago
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@GuidedByVoices Perhaps it's because English is not my native language, but by preceding "simple" with "deceptively" I thought I had made it clear that Fischer's play wasn't simple - it only looked like that, quite often.
Thomas
2 years 10 months ago
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While Peter gave a prize for "silliest comment ever", the organizers get my prize for silliest rule ever, if the information on the Chessdom forum is correct:
"the one which forces stalemate will get 1.5 points and the other player will get just 0.5 point"
So king+pawn vs. king is a significant advantage even if you (as in most cases) cannot win ... . And who is forcing stalemate if one player sacrifices his last piece in the process, him or the opponent accepting the sacrifice?
While this probably has little influence on the results, what if the same "logic" or "philosophy" applies to perpetual check ??!
It seems to be a rule invented by someone who knows nothing about chess, but credit for this idea is given to GM Eugenio Torre ... .
ChessGirl
2 years 10 months ago
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It happened to me before too, Castro, don´t be anxious! :) Sometimes it´s just a default action of the filter and maybe the CV team is a little bit busy.
Castro
2 years 10 months ago
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What's the problem in posting, this time?
...?
Castro
2 years 10 months ago
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Peter?
Would you enlight it pls?
Castro
2 years 10 months ago
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@Thomas (Though you many times avoid really answering me, I move along, and sometimes even have something to say about issues that you bring here)
You inform us of a double silly rule!
Silly in content (because awarding a stalemate --- any draw, I'd say! --- more points than the half of winning is talking about other game than chess.
And sure, silly in the form, because literaly it says it awards 1,5 points to the "forcing" part of the stalemate, even if it is the one who couldn't posibly win, in no circunstance. :-)
And always a chess variant, of course. Sad!
Castro
2 years 10 months ago
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Peter, what's wrong in posting my other text here?
Is it something general (what?), or have you read it, and have a problem?
In this case, again I tell you: Pls be straight with me (us).
And let me say what I want to say. Again: Pls.
Castro
2 years 10 months ago
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Ah, sorry. Just to explain that I tried to post ir 4 times, at different moments, since the afternoon, and it never shows. Not even with "awaiting moderation"...
TOTOY BATO
2 years 10 months ago
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I HEARD SO LISPS. TRUE PETA?
Chessbuff
2 years 10 months ago
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That game of So against Torre, So seemed to just produce a rabbit out of a hat. Voila, it's a won game.
rei
2 years 9 months ago
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wow..wesley is so amazing..he's good!!!!
he's moves are so good..all i can say is wow...
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