Tag Archives: Hikaru Nakamura

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.

 

CHECK OUT THE NEW HOME FOR THE AMOK COLUMN: www.aaldef.org/blog

LIKE  and FOLLOW us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/emilguillermo.media

And FOLLOW my latest tweets  on  Twitter    http://www.twitter.com/emilamok

 

Emil Guillermo: The top three chess players in the U.S. are Asian American. How did that happen?

The U.S. Chess Championships ended this week when  Hikaru Nakamura was crowned the winner of the tournament and the nation’s undisputed No.1.

chessrobsonsorobsonmoves

But the key match in the whole thing turns out to be the one between Ray Robson and  Wesley So, two former roommates at Webster University in St.Louis.

The much higher-rated So lost to Robson, who told me later he was surprised that So made three bad moves. The blunders gave Robson an advantage to win the match and second place. So placed  third.

And the much anticipated showdown between Nakamura and So never happened.

Was So distracted and by what?  See my story.

CHECK OUT THE NEW HOME FOR THE AMOK COLUMN: www.aaldef.org/blog

LIKE  and FOLLOW us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/emilguillermo.media

And FOLLOW my latest tweets  on  Twitter    http://www.twitter.com/emilamok

Emil Guillermo: Here’s the relative worth of chess to golf on the same weekend that their respective masters played.

At the U.S. Chess Championships, Hikaru Nakamura, 27, won the crown and $45,000.

hikaru

Total prize money for all the  players at the U.S. Chess Championshps? Around $175,000.

In other words, it’s about the amount  golfer Jordan Spieth should tip his caddy.

For the Master’s win, Spieth won $1.8 million.

No wonder Hikaru’s looking down.

If you play chess,  better to trade your queen for a set of Calloways.

CHECK OUT THE NEW HOME FOR THE AMOK COLUMN: www.aaldef.org/blog

LIKE  and FOLLOW us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/emilguillermo.media

And FOLLOW my latest tweets  on  Twitter    http://www.twitter.com/emilamok