(IN PHOTO: GM Le Quang Liem and GM Wesley So)
Who do you think will be the first ASEAN chess player ever to break the 2700 Elo mark? (Please educate this blogger if an ASEAN player had already made the record.)
If the Philippines produced the first grandmaster in Asia in the name of the legendary GM Eugene Torre, I guess it would be Vietnam which could produce the first ASEAN player to reach the 2700 Elo mark.
The live ratings of the leading contemporary ASEAN players will show us the whole picture.
As of today (February 23, 2010), GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam (2647), fresh from conquering the Aeroflot Open 2010 in Moscow,Russia, leads the race with a live rating of 2689, just 11 Elo points shy off the coveted mark. Next in line is the Philippines' Numero Uno GM Wesley So (2656) who now parades a live rating of 2666.3, or 33.7 Elo points off the target. Both GMs Le and So played in the Aeroflot Open.
We all know that 2689, not 2665.3, is much closer to 2700. As of this moment, some 23.7 Elo point-margin separates the two. Today with GMs Le and So out of the picture, the ASEAN quest for the 2700 race will just certainly be an absurd dream.
Notably, GM Le gained astonishing 42 Elo points in his last two tournaments. He gained 16.20 at the Moscow Open 2010, where he tied for first, and incredible 25.80 at Aeroflot Open 2010 where we emerged as solo champion.
GM So, on the other hand, gained not so huge 9.3 points in his last two tournaments, 4.7 in Corus 2010 (Group B), where he placed fifth, and 4.6 in Aeroflot Open 2010 where he placed 11th overall.
GM So's next tournament will be the Battle of GMs (BOGM) where he is seeded No.1. Being the only 2600-rated player in the country and whose rating margin to the next highest rated player is around 100 Elo points, he is not poised to boost his Elo standing in this tournament. Inevitable draws - I expect at least three - will surely make a stingy dent to his 2700 campaign. And heaven forbid, what about an accidental loss (with much emphasis on the term 'accidental').
Of course, GM Wesley has that moral and patriotic obligations to play in the Battle of GMs. And we should salute this young lad for keeping his commitment.
If he could avoid bloodless draws in the BOGM, much better. If his opponents/friends respect GM Wesley enough, it would be best for them to avoid the needless truce with Wesley. Oh please, don't drag the country's source of hope and inspiration down.
As I see it, Wesley needs at least three tournaments - provided he plays well - to breach the 2700 target. As for the Vietnamese Le, he only needs just ONE tournament - provided he plays well too - to achieve the historic honor of being the first ASEAN to realize the elusive dream.
We can't avoid the comparison. The race is on. And Vietnam is moving faster to reach the finish line.
Monday, February 22, 2010
The race is on
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7 Comments:
i think you have forgotten something?
http://chess-results.com/tnr29389.aspx?art=9&lan=1&fed=VIE&m=-1&wi=1000&snr=1
so its 2680 lang
unfortunately hindi nabigyan ng gaanong publisidad sila dmaxx and bitoon sa tourney na ito pero take a look at their fide rating/profile and they have gained some modest amount of elo rating points. Muntikan na si Dmaxx dito, nakopo na dapat nya yung GM title, Bitoon naman could have gained a norm dun sa 2nd tourney nila kaso kulang sa titled opponents.
castofclowns
just a bit of info sir, Singaporean GM Zhang Zhong was the closest to reach 2700 (by an ASEAN chessplayer) prior to So,Le and Nguyen at 2667. but married life (to WGM Li Ruofan) and stable chess coaching career slowed down his chess. But at 32, i think he could still join in the fray of 2700 hunters.
COC (huh castofclowns and not cert of candidacy)
gens una sumus
God Bless and keep those verses bold and primary!!!
In April 2008, Bu and Ni Hua became the second and third Chinese players to pass the 2700 elo rating line, after Wang Yue.
Four asian chess players including current world champion Anand from India.
Thank you very much CASTOFCLOWNS for the very well-informed comments!!
To the other two anonymous readers, GMs Anand, Bu, and Ni are not from ASEAN, but they are Asians. Thanks for the comments, too.
Good writing, but I think we should avoid using ASEAN (this is an organiztion, not a region) to describe a person from southeast asia. Just use SEA or the full southeast asia/n.
Actually Zhang Zhong is not from the "region" of South East Asia, he's from mainland China, and became "part" of the ASEAN "organization" when he shifted his FEDERATION MEMBERSHIP to Singapore.
I would like to point out Zaw Win Lay of Myanmar who catapulted to World Top 100 rankings in the late 90's. His rating together with the top players of their federation were slashed by 100 points by FIDE due to anomalous game-fixing/results from tournaments they have submitted to rating committee of FIDE.
The highest rated IM from the "Philippines" is Rogelio Barcenilla followed by Enrico Sevillano. The highest rated Philippine IM is Rogelio Barcenilla followed by Richard Bitoon. The rating we are stating here is from a federation or an association (FIDE ACCREDITED) not from a region or place per se. eg. "LATVIAN" GM Alexie Shirov of Spain atarts with five straight wins.
If i will agree with your contention then Sultan Khan could have been the First GM or someone from the former USSR Nation since "actually" they are part of ASIA. And with youre list, we should add a former FIDE champ (Kazim). Howell might be also be contesting the 2700 fray since his also part Asian? or maybe SEA at that.
One can be from SEA but not part of its rating list, and when we talk of rating, its better to use the "organization" affiliated with the player than from the place where he comes from.
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