source: Rene Bonsubre, Jr. | philboxing.com

Filipino chess prodigy Wesley So got a hard earned draw against 2007 World Chess Cup winner and former world title challenger Gata Kamsky of the U.S. in the second game of their mini-match of the third round of the 2009 World Chess Cup held in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia.

So already won the first game and this draw enables him to go to the fourth round in a tournament where nobody expected the 16 year old to advance so far.

So played with the white pieces and opened with 1. c4 (P-QB4). Kamsky responded with the Leningrad variation of the Dutch defense. Kamsky played aggressively but So wound up a pawn ahead after 19 moves. So slowly improved his piece position and nursed his small advantage in a two rooks with one bishop of opposite colors endgame. On the 32nd move Kamsky’s rook was trapped along on the h file after grabbing a pawn.

So actually had the advantage when the game ended in the 42nd move but a draw was all he needed to advance. He will play the winner of the Vladimir Malakhov vs Pavel Eljanov match.

So won the first game of his third round mini-match against Kamsky with the black pieces employing the French defense. The Filipino entered time control with two pawns ahead. So exhibited nerves of steel in the pressure packed moments of the endgame until Kamsky resigned on the 53rd move. So had advantage in this second game as Kamsky was in a must win situation with the black pieces.

In the first round So beat GM Gadir Guseinov of Azerbaijan and then scored an earth shaking upset of highly ranked GM Vasily Ivanchuk of the Ukraine. It was So’s French defense that proved decisive in his second round match-up victory against the world number 12. Ivanchuk was so heart broken with his loss, he has threatened to quit professional chess.

In his interview on the website chessdom.com , So said that he was just lucky against Ivanchuk but he played well in his first game against Kamsky.
“I caught him at the opening, he spent a lot of time.” So said about the U.S. Grandmaster.

In 2007 So became the youngest grandmaster in Philippines history at 14 years and one month old. He earned his ticket to the World Cup by placing 2nd during Zone 3.3 Chess Championship which was held last July in Vietnam. He is the country’s highest ranked player.

Kamsky spent his early chess years playing in the former Soviet Union before moving to the U.S. In 1996, Kamsky played a 20-game match against Anatoly Karpov for the FIDE World Chess Championship 1996 title in Kalmykia, losing 7.5–10.5. He was inactive for 8 years but won the Chess World Cup in 2007. This year he lost his match against Veselin Topalov for the right to challenge Viswanathan Anand for the World Chess Championship 2010.

Unlike other top international players, So does not have a personal coach. The Philippine Chess Federation and private corporate sponsors should look into this. So is a diamond in the rough but could wind up being our next “once in a lifetime” gem. Just like Manny Pacquiao.




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