Wednesday, February 17, 2010

GM So retains Top Junior title in Aeroflot

GM Wesley So ended his stint in Aeroflot Open 2010 in Moscow, Russia in a lifeless 10-mover draw to finish 11th overall with 5.5 points in a strong field of 80 players.

Compatriot GM Darwin, who probably played the worst campaign in his professional career, withdrew from the event after Round 7 to finish at the bottom with half a point.

GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam topped the event with a strong final-round kick by beating GM Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia to haul a total of 7.0 points for a total performance rating of 2872!!

The two Philippine flag bearers fashioned out completely contrasting results when it comes to Elo point production. Wesley earned 4.6 points, bringing his live rating to 2665.3 after the tournament, while Darwin lost incredible 28.6 Elo points. Laylo's live rating now stands at 2527.4 which will surely affect his rankings in the Philippines.

The draw in the last round was enough for So to retain his Top Junior title which he earned last year in the same tournament.

If not for some of the short and blodless draws of Wesley in this tournament, his 2700-mark campaign could have been much boosted.

Of course, as mere fans, we didn't know what Wesley and Darwin were going through in the course of the tournament. They might be troubled by a physical pain, whatever.

I'll say it again, as mere fans, all we could do is want and expect. After the game, as a consequence, we either jump for joy or grin in disappointment, and for some - even mourn in pain.

But surely, the 10-mover draw in Wesley's last game put a question mark to his image as an exciting, world-class player, considering that he was the one who offered the truce!

It's now always the Elo points, not the title that count.

Sometimes, the total character of a player who gives his best to exploring the deepest and wildest beauty of the game is what endear him to the world of sports.

If the Aeroflot Open 2010 served as a test of skills for Darwin, it served somethig else for Wesley - that is, a test of character.

Yeah, the pressure in that high-profile tournament was indeed too heavy to bear. But that's exactly the point!!

If you are to be a world champion, you have to be hungry and brave enough to face the stiffest opposition - and conquer them.


E Iturrizaga vs Wesley So
Round 9 Aeroflot Open 2010






PGN:

[Event "Aeroflot Open"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2010.02.17"]
[EventDate "2010.02.09"]
[Round "9"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[White "E Iturrizaga"]
[Black "W So"]
[ECO "D10"]
[WhiteElo "2616"]
[BlackElo "2656"]
[PlyCount "20"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 dxc4 4. e4 b5 5. a4 b4 6. Na2 Nf6 7. e5 Nd5 8.
Bxc4 e6 9. Nf3 Bb7 10. O-O Nd7 1/2-1/2


FINAL RANKINGS AEROFLOT OPEN 2010

Rank Name Flags Score Fed. M/F Rating TPR W-We Col.Bal. Rat-HiLo 123456789
1GM Le, Quang Liem
7.0 VIE M 2647 2872 +2.58 1 2655.0 1 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1
2GM Korobov, Anton
6.5 UKR M 2648 2776 +1.54 1 2606.0 ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1
3GM Motylev, Alexander
6.0 RUS M 2697 2755 +0.67 -1 2629.7 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1
4GM Zhou, Jianchao
6.0 CHN M 2632 2778 +1.75 1 2660.1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1
5GM Nguyen, Ngoc Truong Son
6.0 VIE M 2616 2749 +1.61 1 2638.7 ½ 1 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 0
6GM Grachev, Boris
6.0 RUS M 2653 2745 +1.09 1 2616.3 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½
7GM Cheparinov, Ivan
5.5 BUL M 2660 2715 +0.69 -1 2638.0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
8GM Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
5.5 FRA M 2730 2700 -0.33 -1 2631.1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ ½
9GM Nepomniachtchi, Ian
5.5 RUS M 2658 2691 +0.42 -1 2622.4 0 1 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0
10GM Bu, Xiangzhi
5.5 CHN M 2673 2700 +0.33 -1 2619.3 1 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½
11GM So, Wesley j 5.5 PHI M 2656 2693 +0.46 -1 2612.1 ½ 1 0 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½
12GM Sargissian, Gabriel
5.5 ARM M 2680 2682 +0.03 -1 2604.1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½
13GM Savchenko, Boris
5.5 RUS M 2638 2729 +1.14 1 2651.1 1 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 0 ½
14GM Bacrot, Etienne
5.5 FRA M 2713 2717 +0.06 1 2640.7 1 0 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½
15GM Timofeev, Artyom
5.5 RUS M 2652 2707 +0.71 1 2631.3 1 ½ 1 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½
16GM Bareev, Evgeny
5.5 RUS M 2643 2699 +0.71 1 2620.7 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 1 ½ ½
17GM Najer, Evgeniy
5.5 RUS M 2665 2698 +0.41 1 2618.4 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1
18GM Iturrizaga, Eduardo
5.5 VEN M 2616 2676 +0.75 1 2594.7 0 1 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½
19GM Dreev, Alexey
5.5 RUS M 2650 2676 +0.34 1 2584.7 ½ 0 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½
20GM Mamedov, Rauf
5.0 AZE M 2640 2659 +0.20 -1 2620.7 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½
21GM Novikov, Stanislav
5.0 RUS M 2557 2646 +1.09 -1 2612.4 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 1 1 1 1
22GM Salgado Lopez, Ivan
5.0 ESP M 2584 2654 +0.84 -1 2611.7 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 ½
23GM Volokitin, Andrei
5.0 UKR M 2692 2652 -0.52 -1 2607.9 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1
24GM Zvjaginsev, Vadim
5.0 RUS M 2642 2649 +0.06 -1 2601.1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
25GM Kobalia, Mikhail
5.0 RUS M 2637 2643 +0.04 -1 2599.0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 0 1 ½
26GM Khairullin, Ildar
5.0 RUS M 2605 2706 +1.21 1 2665.3 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
27GM Khalifman, Alexander
5.0 RUS M 2616 2690 +0.90 1 2659.6 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
28GM Grigoriants, Sergey
5.0 RUS M 2560 2688 +1.54 1 2646.3 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 0 1
29GM Belov, Vladimir
5.0 RUS M 2595 2677 +0.99 1 2643.0 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½
30GM Sasikiran, Krishnan
5.0 IND M 2653 2681 +0.32 1 2640.0 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0
31GM Melkumyan, Hrant
5.0 ARM M 2583 2667 +1.02 1 2638.1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 0 1 1 ½
32GM Pashikian, Arman
5.0 ARM M 2647 2672 +0.27 1 2624.7 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½
33GM Naiditsch, Arkadij
5.0 GER M 2687 2649 -0.49 1 2617.7 ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½
34GM Vescovi, Giovanni
5.0 BRA M 2660 2659 -0.05 1 2616.6 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 0
35GM Kamsky, Gata
5.0 USA M 2693 2650 -0.56 1 2615.1 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 1 ½
36GM McShane, Luke J
5.0 ENG M 2616 2646 +0.36 1 2605.7 ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 1
37GM Amonatov, Farrukh
5.0 TJK M 2634 2636 -0.01 1 2587.3 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 0 1
38GM Predojevic, Borki
5.0 BIH M 2642 2621 -0.30 1 2580.9 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½
39GM Tregubov, Pavel V.
5.0 RUS M 2628 2603 -0.33 1 2559.7 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½
40GM Sjugirov, Sanan j 4.5 RUS M 2610 2655 +0.56 -1 2658.9 ½ 1 ½ 1 0 0 1 ½ 0
41GM Safarli, Eltaj j 4.5 AZE M 2594 2631 +0.48 -1 2633.4 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
42GM Moiseenko, Alexander
4.5 UKR M 2677 2604 -0.90 -1 2604.7 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 ½
43GM Ragger, Markus
4.5 AUT M 2568 2599 +0.39 1 2601.9 0 0 1 ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½
44GM Van Wely, Loek
4.5 NED M 2641 2606 -0.44 1 2601.6 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½
45GM Shabalov, Alexander
4.5 USA M 2611 2588 -0.29 1 2583.0 0 1 0 0 1 1 ½ 0 1
46GM Ehlvest, Jaan
4.0 USA M 2600 2579 -0.23 -1 2627.4 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½
47GM Potkin, Vladimir
4.0 RUS M 2611 2572 -0.46 -1 2612.1 0 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 0 ½
48GM Lenic, Luka
4.0 SLO M 2595 2563 -0.37 -1 2607.4 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½
49IM Danin, Alexandre
4.0 RUS M 2519 2563 +0.58 -1 2606.1 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 0
50GM Feller, Sebastien
4.0 FRA M 2579 2557 -0.25 -1 2602.7 0 0 1 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 1
51GM Hou, Yifan w 4.0 CHN F 2590 2552 -0.45 -1 2597.4 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½
52GM Smirin, Ilia
4.0 ISR M 2668 2534 -1.63 -1 2582.1 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 1 0 1 0
53GM Maletin, Pavel
4.0 RUS M 2591 2537 -0.62 -1 2581.4 0 ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ ½ 0
54GM Volkov, Sergey
4.0 RUS M 2623 2536 -1.04 -1 2578.9 0 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 0 0 ½
55GM Zhigalko, Sergei
4.0 BLR M 2668 2525 -1.72 -1 2571.6 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½
56GM Bocharov, Dmitry
4.0 RUS M 2594 2617 +0.31 1 2670.1 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 0 1 0 0
57GM Rodshtein, Maxim
4.0 ISR M 2622 2599 -0.25 1 2652.7 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0
58GM Kosintseva, Tatiana w 4.0 RUS F 2515 2596 +1.00 1 2640.0 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 1 0 ½
59GM Shomoev, Anton
4.0 RUS M 2559 2578 +0.26 1 2629.0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ ½
60GM Rakhmanov, Aleksandr
4.0 RUS M 2591 2580 -0.11 1 2628.4 1 ½ 0 0 1 ½ 0 0 1
61IM Kosintseva, Nadezhda w 4.0 RUS F 2533 2585 +0.67 1 2625.6 1 ½ ½ 0 0 0 1 ½ ½
62GM Andriasian, Zaven
4.0 ARM M 2613 2580 -0.39 1 2614.9 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 ½
63GM Zhou, Weiqi
4.0 CHN M 2600 2566 -0.39 1 2613.3 ½ 1 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½
64GM Efimenko, Zahar
4.0 UKR M 2657 2520 -1.66 1 2566.3 1 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1
65GM Khusnutdinov, Rustam
3.5 KAZ M 2513 2543 +0.33 -1 2620.3 0 1 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½
66IM Papin, Vasily
3.5 RUS M 2548 2523 -0.33 -1 2602.3 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
67IM Krylov, Mikhail
3.5 RUS M 2511 2521 +0.09 -1 2589.6 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 ½
68GM Ajrapetjan, Yuriy
3.5 UKR M 2525 2510 -0.20 -1 2588.4 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 0
69IM Javakhishvili, Lela w 3.0 GEO F 2493 2484 -0.09 -1 2605.4 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0
70GM Iljushin, Alexei
3.0 RUS M 2551 2469 -0.97 -1 2594.7 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0 ½
71GM Sebag, Marie w 3.0 FRA F 2510 2471 -0.45 -1 2594.7 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 0 0 1 0
72GM Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan
3.0 IRI M 2589 2457 -1.58 -1 2582.4 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½
73GM Lopez Martinez, Josep Manu
3.0 ESP M 2593 2439 -1.85 -1 2557.9 0 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 0
74GM Vazquez Igarza, Renier
3.0 ESP M 2563 2434 -1.54 -1 2557.4 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 1
75GM Morovic Fernandez, Ivan
3.0 CHI M 2561 2486 -0.89 1 2614.6 ½ 0 0 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0
76GM Salem, A.R. Saleh j 3.0 UAE M 2484 2420 -0.62 1 2602.4 ½ 1 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 +
77GM Romanov, Evgeny
3.0 RUS M 2599 2606 +0.07 3 2652.7 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 - -
78GM Svetushkin, Dmitry
2.5 MDA M 2573 2411 -1.95 -1 2575.6 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 0 ½
79GM Yudin, Sergei
2.0 RUS M 2573 2402 -1.75 -1 2587.4 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 -
80GM Laylo, Darwin
0.5 PHI M 2556 2148 -2.86 1 2558.3 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 - -

2 Comments:

Anonymous said...

Wesley has to rest and for Darwin to focus on his coaching job. Wesley MUST earn a college degree if he wants to have a durable chess career. Wesley is very good but not great like Carlsen or other world champions. World champions are made, not born and the Philippines do not have the means to make. Sad but true! Look at the Presidentiables and the Filipino people, Carnival it is! From a Filipino chess observer.

Anonymous said...

I guess its back to school for GM Wesley So and earn a degree in a University. Chess will always be there for GM Wesley So. It's a hard life nowadays and for the parents of Wesley who sacrificed a lot and supported GM Wesley So. If at the age of 22 he should have to be in the elite class of 2700+ or being one of the candidate for a World Champion in Chess...It's a waste if he can't achieve it and I will really get mad at him. Yes I am a fan like most Filipino chess players do and what he does for our country in recognition.