Tag Archives: Gashimov Memorial 2015

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Emil Guillermo: Wesley So playing white can’t upset World No.1 Carlsen, as 8th round Gashimov matchup ends in draw

carlsen so

For Filipino chess watchers all over the world, this was the Paquiao/Mayweather matchup in this tournament of international grandmasters: The up and coming Wesley So  vs. World No. 1, Magnus Carlsen.

magnus carlsen

Earlier this week I asked So what it would take to win.

“Full focus,” he replied in an e-mail.

When I asked him if after the U.S. Championships he could beat the highest rated player in the world,  he offered another terse reply.

“If you don’t think you can beat your opponent,” he said,” you shouldn’t be playing against him.”

So went on a ponderous attack, taking more than an hour for his moves on the clock. But whatever So did, Carlsen, playing black, deftly defended with ease. Carlsen registered less than seven minutes on the clock to neutralize So. After the Queens were gone in move 36, the  game came down to each player with a rook and four pawns.

It seemed like a relatively stress-game for Carlsen, as the game ended in a draw between the two players who as teenagers once trained with each other.

Going into the final round, So at best could place second, overall.

But he’d need a full point win  against 8th seed Maxime Vachier-Lagrave;  And then Fabiano Caruana would have to beat and shutout Viswanathan Anand.

It would create a mirror of the chess world: Magnus alone at top, and a bunch of folks in a  logjam for second.

 

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Emil Guillermo: So slips in 7th round match to Caruana at Gashimov chess tourney; Carlsen next.

A disappointing loss for American Filipino Wesley So at the hands of Fabiano Caruana of Italy.

so caruana

So is seen here on the right.

Playing black, So could not find an answer in this relatively quick match that ended when Caruana’s bishop over knight advantage prevailed.

The round 7 loss of a full point put So further behind  World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, who won his 7th round against Vladimir Kramnik.

The two are scheduled to meet in the 8th round.

But So enters the match with 4 points and in third place.   Carlsen is a top the leaderboard at 5.5 points. India’s Viswanathan Anand, who beat So in their head-to-head matchup, is in second with 4.5 points.

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Emil Guillermo: UPDATE–Wesley So loses match, but Carlsen wins his to take lead in the Gashimov chess tourney in Azerbaijan

UPDATE

World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen  took over the lead in the Gashimov Memorial in Azerbaijan with a win over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. 

The win gives him a  half point advantage over American Filipino chess hero Wesley So, who lost his fifth round match.

So, playing black, was outmaneuvered by former world champ Visanathan Anand.

Just a mild set back for So, who had  won his fourth round game vs. Rauf Mamedov.  That full point win gave So a momentary  advantage over the rest of the field.

The tourney still  seems destined for a  big match between So and the  World No. 1, Magnus Carlsen of Norway.

So’s strong play in Azerbaijan is a real switch from the previous week in the U.S., where he uncharacteristically lost three games and forfeited a fourth at the U.S. Championships.

 

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Emil Guillermo: After disastrous U.S. Chess Championships, Wesley So rebounds in Azerbaijan tourney. UPDATED with So’s third round results.

chesssorobsonmatch

SEE UPDATE BELOW

Last week, Wesley So (right) lost to three lesser players, including his old college roommate Ray Robson, who went on to edge past Wesley for overall 2nd place in the tournament.

But that was in St. Louis.

Since then, So has gone to the other side of the world, to Azerbaijan, where he is playing like his old self.

After two matches, Wesley So seems to have regained confidence and form with dominant play, winning one and drawing one, at the Gashimov Memorial tournament in Azerbaijan.

On Saturday, So  drew his match with co-leader Vladmir Kramnik to  continue to share the top spot in the tournament.

So opened Friday night with a crushing defeat of Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri  in just 32 moves.

So, a Filipino playing as an American, disappointed last week when he failed to challenge Hikaru Nakamura for the No.1 spot in the U.S.

Personal issues between So’s biological mom and the family  with whom he stays in the U.S., led to bitter arguments during that tournament. Some believe that had an affect on So’s play.

So was ranked 8th in the world during the U.S. tournament.

UPDATED 4/19/15 11:16pm PDT

Wesley So beat Michael Adams of (England) in Round 3 of Gashimov.

 

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