MANILA, PHILIPPINES -- GM Wesley So of the Philippines fought gallantly against Corus B top seed GM Arkadij Naiditsch of Germany in an English Opening and was able to draw an inferior bishop against rook with both sides having the h pawns in 111 moves to finish in almost 7 hours of play at the start of 2010 Corus International Chess Championship at the De Moriaan Community Centre in Netherlands early Sunday morning (Manila time).
“It was the last game to finish in round one. We went back to our hotel under snowing condition,” said Wesley’s long-time manager businessman Reginald Tee, who acted the second and accompanying person of the former (Wesley So) in an email to this writer.
The Latvian-born Naiditsch holds the highest Elo rating of 2689 in Group B of the three-division tournament.
So, who topped Group C last year with 9.5 points on seven wins, five draws and only one loss, is making his first appearance in the stronger category-16 Group B where the average rating is Elo 2627.
The 16-year-old Bacoor, Cavite So will be facing Dutch GM Erwin l'Ami in Round 2 on what is left of the energy he spent yesterday. The game will start at around 8:30 in the evening Sunday (Manila time). GM Erwin also halved the point with Chinese GM Ni Hua.
National Chess Federation of the Philippines president/chairman Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr. said yesterday “It’s a good start for Wesley So, I hope he can perform well in Corus chess.”
Other first round results also ended into draws the games between England GM David Howell versus Indian GM Parimarjan Negi, Ukrainian Woman GM Anna Muzychuk and American GM Varuzhan Akobian.
Israeli GM Emil Sutovsky, Romanian GM Liviu Nisipeanu, former World Championships finalist and local bet GM Anish Giri toppled their respective rivals.
Sutovsky downed Dutch GM Dimitri Reinderman, Nisipeanu crushed Finish GM Tomi Nyback while Giri hammered Indian GM Pentala Harikrishna.
Round 2 pairings, Group B:
Erwin l'Ami - Wesley So
Varuzhan Akobian - Arkadij Naiditsch
Parimarjan Negi - Anna Muzychuk
Pentala Harikrishna - David Howell
Liviu Nisipeanu - Anish Giri
Dimitri Reinderman - Tomi Nyback
Ni Hua - Emil Sutovsky
Top photo: Two girls mounted a huge photo of Filipino grandmaster Wesley So at the Corus tournament venue.
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