Wesley at Aeroflot

BY: BOBBY ANG

(Abridged version of Chess Piece as published in BusinessWorld on March 1, 2010)

9th Aeroflot Open
Moscow, Russia
February 9-18, 2010

Final Top Standings

1. GM Le Quang Liem VIE 2647, 7.0/9
2-6. GM Anton Korobov UKR 2648, GM Alexander Motylev RUS 2697, GM Zhou Jianchao CHN 2632, GM Nguyen Ngoc Truongson VIE 2616, GM Boris Grachev RUS 2653, 6.0/9
7-19. GM Ivan Cheparinov BUL 2660, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave FRA 2730, GM Ian Nepomniachtchi RUS 2658, GM Bu Xiangzhi CHN 2673, GM Wesley So PHI 2656, GM Gabriel Sargissian ARM 2680, GM Boris Savchenko RUS 2638, GM Etienne Bacrot FRA 2713, GM Artyom Timofeev RUS 2652, GM Evgeny Bareev RUS 2643, GM Evgeniy Najer RUS 2665, GM Eduardo Iturrizaga VEN 2616, GM Alexey Dreev RUS 2650, 5.5/9

80 participants

Wesley was 11th place in Aeroflot. That is not too bad -- in fact he will gain some previous ELO points in the next rating list. Over the course of nine rounds he had three wins, five draws and one loss. Apart from the short draw in the last round all his games were well fought. Let us take a look at some of them.

GM Alexander Rakhmanov, 21, is another of the legions of underrated Russians who can beat anybody on any given day. Last year he won the Voronezh Open and by virtue of this victory was given a free ticket to the Abu Dhabi Open, where he placed second with 7/9. This score, of course, is usually good enough for first place but Aleksandrov beat him in the last round to overtake everybody else with an impressive 7.5/9. Here in Moscow Rakhmanov outwitted one of the tournament favorites, Ian Nepomniachtchi, in the first round but the whuppin he got from Wesley in the 4th sent him tumbling down the standings.

So, Wesley (2656) -- Rakhmanov, Alexander (2591) [B29]
9th Aeroflot Open A Moscow RUS (4), 12.02.2010
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GM Hrant Melkumyan of Armenia is another recent graduate from the junior ranks. He is 21 years old and a blitz expert, having reached the final round of the Dos Hermanas Internet Blitz Championship (held on the Internet Chess Club, this is the de facto world Internet blitz competition). Last 2006 he also managed to tie a six-game blitz match with Alexander Grischuk, an outstanding feat for a teenager.

Melkumyan made his big jump in rating last year when he tied for second place in the 2009 Abu Dhabi Open (same as Rakhmanov above) and tied for 1st in the giant Chigorin Memorial last October. This giant open is St. Petersburg’s counterpart to the Aeroflot Open in Moscow and also has a lot of GMs in its tournament roster. The reason why Moscow consistently gets more foreign GM participation is that its sponsor, Aeroflot, gives special packages to encourage foreigners to attend, including cheap tickets and hotel accommodation (it is the price which is cheap, not the accommodation!)

Melkumyan, Hrant (2583) -- So, Wesley (2656) [D10]
9th Aeroflot Open A Moscow RUS (5), 13.02.2010
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2010 MATI OPEN RAPID CHESSFEST

Final Ranking after 7 Rounds
Rk.		Name	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	NM	MAGNO Cedric	Panabo Chess Club	6	0	35	29
2	NM	LUPIAN Alexander	Davao del Norte	6	0	31	25.3
3		MAAMO Harison	Davao City	6	0	28	22.5
4		LEYSA Ferdinand	GSC Chess Club	6	0	27	21
5		QUIÑONES Reynaldo	Davao City	5.5	0	32	22.5
6	NM	RETANAL Elwin	Malita Chess Club	5.5	0	28	21.8
7		QUIÑONES Arace T.	Davao City	5.5	0	27	18.3
8		CAVAN Gerald	TADECO Chess Club	5	0	28	19.5
9	NM	PORTUGALERA Ric	GSC Chess Club	5	0	28	17
10		ALERIA Glenn	Davao City	5	0	25	17.5
11		AUNSO John Carl	UM Chess Club	5	0	25	17.5
12		RODIS Gil	Tagum Chess Club	5	0	24	15.5
13		ESPERAT Reggie	Mati Chess Club	5	0	19	11
14	CM	LOPEZ Henry Roger	Panabo Chess Club	4.5	0	31	16.5
15		YU Samuel	Davao City	4.5	0	30	17.8
16		CLAVITE Alexander E.	Davao City	4.5	0	29	16.3
17		NATOR Luis	Tagum Chess Club	4.5	0	29	15.3
18		SINAGULA Jojo	Davao City	4.5	0	28	16.5
19		MORALES Clint Nikko	Mati Chess Club	4.5	0	24	14.8
20		BATASIN-IN Jerome	Compostela Chess Club	4.5	0	24	11.3
21		SEVILLA Jose Adones L.	Compostela Chess Club	4.5	0	24	10.8
22		BOYBOY Lito	Tagum Chess Club	4.5	0	22	11.3
23		SALUBRE Jayson	Davao City	4	0	34	17.5
24		ABA-A Roy	Davao City	4	0	32	15
25		SONSONA Restituto	Davao City	4	0	31	16
26		TOMANG Mojimar A.	Mati Chess Club	4	0	29	15.5
27		LAGURA Marcelo III	Tagum Chess Club	4	0	29	15.5
28		FALCATAN Ivan Kim M.	Tagum Chess Club	4	0	29	14.5
29		GEMPERO Reynaldo Romera Jr.	Mati Chess Club	4	0	28	12
30		ENRIQUEZ Raden	Um Chess Club	4	0	28	12
31		LESACA Jon Christian	Davao City	4	0	28	12.5
32		GARCES Cyril Boy	Pantukan Chess Club	4	0	27	12
33		ATOG Bert	Mati Chess Club	4	0	26	14.5
34		ENGAY Jet	Dona Pilar Chess Club	4	0	20	8
35		ORDIZ Leo	Mati Chess Club	3.5	0	28	12
36		UMAYAN Vincent	Davao City	3.5	0	27	12.3
37		TABADA Kenneth	Tagum Chess Club	3.5	0	27	9.75
38		MICAYABAS May	Um Chess Club	3.5	0	25	10.3
39		AÑABIEZA Clark Kent	Panabo Chess Club	3.5	0	25	9.75
40		BANGAHON Hilbert	Davao City	3.5	0	25	7.75
41		NIODA Carlo	Mati Chess Club	3.5	0	22	8.25
42		ACAS Cecilio	Davao City	3.5	0	21	9.75
43		TABADA Constancio	Tagum Chess Club	3.5	0	21	5.75
44		RONTALO Arnel T.	Pantukan Chess Club	3.5	0	17	5.25
45		LAPUT Lito	Digos Chess Club	3	0	31	12.5
46		DANO Jimmy L.	Digo Chess Club	3	0	29	11.5
47		ALSADO Rodel	Panabo City	3	0	28	9
48		YUMAGUE Kyzyl Kylle	Mati Chess Club	3	0	26	8
49		AÑABIEZA Cerlin	Panabo Chess Club	3	0	25	7.5
50		ZANORIA Ernesto Montejo	Pantukan Chess Club	3	0	24	7
51		PORTUITO Roger V.	Tagum Chess Club	3	0	23	8.75
52		DOTILLOS Mark Gil	Mati Chess Club	3	0	22	7
53		LLENADO Limwiel Jake	Pantukan Chess Club	3	0	22	5.5
54		BUAC Eduardo	Mati Chess Club	3	0	22	5
55		YABUT Jerwin G.	Tagum Chess Club	3	0	21	4
56		TAGAMA Dennis	Banaybanay Chess Club	3	0	20	6
57		PELOS Daryl	Um Chess Club	3	0	19	4
58		CORTECIANO Edgar N.	Mati Chess Club	3	0	16	5
59		PORQUILLO Noel T.	Mati Chess Club	3	0	16	5
60		TABUDLONG Zsuzsa	Blue Knight Chess Club	2.5	0	24	5.25
61		ENRIQUEZ Noelyn	Um Chess Club	2.5	0	23	6
62		MAPAYO Oliver	Mati Chess Club	2.5	0	18	2.25
63		OLANDRIA Rommel	Lupon Chess Club	2	0	24	5
64		BERO Nestor	Mati Chess Club	2	0	20	3
65		PRATO Brenda	Tagum Chess Club	2	0	20	1.5
66		LIBATON Edwin	Banaybanay Chess Club	2	0	19	3
67		PALENTINOS Ernane Jhon	Mati Chess Club	2	0	17	0
68		DRES Romeo Lepoldo	Mati Chess Club	2	0	17	0
69		OLITA Renante	Mati Chess Club	2	0	16	1
70		CATAYAS Rodrigo	Panabo Chess Club	1.5	0	26	5
71		TOREDES Kem Mario	Tagum Chess Club	1.5	0	23	3.75
72		ABUEL Richelle P.	Mati Chess Club	1.5	0	19	3.25
73		NAVAL Honeylove V.	Mati Chess Club	1	0	21	0
74		AMON Alain	Mati Chess Club	1	0	19	3
75		TALAMERA Arnel John B.	Mati Chess Club	0	0	18	0
76		ADAVAN Cesar	Tagum Chess Club	0	0	15	0
		BAANG Ray Vincent M.	Mati Chess Club	0	0	15	0
78		NAVAL Kurt Avram V.	Mati Chess Club	0	0	11	0

1st CHED NATIONAL GAMES Chess Team Tournament ( MEN )

Final Ranking after 7 Rounds
Rk.	SNo	Team	Games	+	=	-	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	4	NCR	7	7	0	0	23	28	0
2	7	REGION 7	7	5	0	2	20	22	0
3	8	REGION 12	7	4	1	2	17	20	0
4	10	REGION 4-A	7	3	3	1	17	19	0
5	12	REGION 6	7	3	2	2	16	18	0
6	2	REGION 11	7	2	3	2	15	16	0
7	13	REGION 5	7	3	2	2	15	18	2
8	11	REGION 2	7	3	1	3	15	17	0
9	9	REGION 10	7	2	0	5	14	13	0
10	3	REGION 8	7	3	1	3	13	17	2
11	5	REGION 1	7	2	2	3	13	15	0
12	15	REGION 3	7	1	3	3	13	13	2
13	1	REGION 9	7	3	1	3	12	17	0
14	14	CARAGA	7	3	0	4	11	16	2
15	16	REGION 4-B	7	1	2	4	11	12	0
16	6	CAR	7	0	1	6	4.5	8	0

1st CHED NATIONAL GAMES Chess Team Tournament ( WOMEN )

Final Ranking after 7 Rounds
Rk.	Team	+	=	-	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	NCR	6	0	1	21	25	0
2	REGION 6	5	1	1	18	23	2
3	REGION 11	5	1	1	18	23	0
4	REGION 5	4	2	1	17	21	0
5	REGION 3	3	3	1	16	19	0
6	CAR	2	3	2	16	16	0
7	REGION 4-A	3	2	2	15	18	0
8	REGION 10	3	0	4	14	16	0
9	REGION 1	2	1	4	14	14	0
10	REGION 7	2	2	3	12	15	2
11	REGION 12	1	2	4	12	12	0
12	REGION 8	3	1	3	12	17	1
13	REGION 2	1	4	2	12	14	1
14	REGION 9	0	3	4	11	10	0
15	REGION 4-B	0	4	3	9.5	11	0
16	CARAGA	0	3	4	9	10	0