Filipino chess prodigy Wesley So will face GM Emil Sutovsky using the white pieces Tuesday night (Manila Time) in his ninth round match in the Corus B Tournament in Holland.
The 32 year old Sutovsky was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, which is famous for being the birthplace of the legendary Garry Kasparov.
Sutovsky relocated to Israel in 1991. In 2005, he had a tournament win against then world champion Vladmir Kramnik. Sutovsky?s favorite defenses with black include the Sicilian, Gruenfeld and King?s Indian.
The players had a day off Monday.
In his eighth round game last Sunday with China?s Ni Hua, GM So played the black pieces and used the Sicilian defense. The 26 year old Ni Hua employed the Rossolimo variation and the game proceeded into well analyzed theoretical lines. The game ended in a draw after 17 moves.
The 16 year old So drew his first five games against Arkadij Naiditsch of Germany, Erwin L’Ami of Holland, Varuzhan Akobian of the U.S. and Indian GM’s Parimarjan Negi and Pentala Harikrishna. He then won two straight games against Romania’s Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu and Dimitri Reinderman of Holland.
The tournament leader is 15 year old Grandmaster Anish Giri, a Nepalese currently living in Holland. So trails Giri by 1.5 points. If the Filipino can maintain his position at second, his clash with Giri on Friday will be crucial.
Tournament ends January 31.
Standings after 8 rounds ?
A. Giri 6? , Ni 5, W. So 5, E. l’Ami 5, D. Howell 4?, A. Naiditsch 4?, P. Harikrishna 4?, P. Negi 4, E. Sutovsky 3?, T. Nyback 3, A. Muzychuk 3, L. Nisipeanu 3, D. Reinderman 2?, V. Akobian 2
