So makes historic advance to 3rd rd of World Cup

KHANTY-Mansiysk, Russia - GM Wesley So of the Philippines added another memorable chapter in his storied career when he slammed the door on former world championship contender super GM Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine, 1.5-.5, to make a historic advance into the third round of the 2009 World Chess Cup. So battled the sixth-seeded Ivanchuk (ELO 2739) to a fighting draw in the second of their two-game encounter late Wednesday at the Khanty-Mansiysk Center of Arts to become the first-ever Filipino campaigner to go this deep in the prestigious competition. The draw was all the 16-year-old Filipino champion from Bacoor, Cavite needed to eliminate Ivanchuk and set up a much-awaited encounter with fellow child prodigy GM Gata Kamsky of the United States in the round-of-32 beginning Nov. 27. The Russian-born Kamsky was the same player who eliminated another Filipino, GM Rogelio Antonio, Jr., in the first round and GM Zhou Weiqi of China in the second round. A fourth-year high school student of St. Francis of Assisi College, So created a big stir last Tuesday when he pulled the rug from under Ivanchuk despite handling the black side of the board. The upset win over Ivanchuk, coupled with an equally impressive 4-1 triumph over GM Gadir Guseinov of Azerbaijan in the first round, enabled So to rewrite history as the first-ever Filipino player to reach the third round of the world’s biggest individual chess competition. Best RP showing ever So surpassed the achievements of Antonio and GM Mark Paragua, who reached as far as the second round of the World Cup. Asia's first GM Eugene Torre qualified as far as the quarterfinal stage but in a different world championship elimination format. The National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) has instructed Antonio and GM Darwin Laylo, who were already eliminated from the tourney, to "stay behind and provide the much-needed assistance to So in his history-making campaign." Antonio, who lost to Kamsky in the first round, and Laylo, who was given the boot by GM David Navara of Czech Republic, are expected to help So prepare his strategy against Kamsky. A win by So over Kamsky will further cement his claim as the world's strongest junior player and give him the rare distinction of advancing to the 16-player fourth round. So, who rose to prominence by becoming the world's seventh youngest player to earn a GM title in December 2007, left nothing to chance in his second game against Ivanchuk. Playing white, the 59th-seeded So opened with the usual d4 and wisely kept the desperate Ukrainian champion in check with his precise continuation. He then forced an exchange of the major pieces -- bishop, knight and two rooks -- and steered the game into a queen and pawn ending which offers little promise. When the game was drawn, both So and Ivanchuk had a queen and three pawns each. Super GMs fall Actually, Ivanchuk was one of only three super GMs who fell by the wayside after the first two classical games in the second round. GM Alexander Morozevich of Russia lost to GM Viktor Laznicka of Czech Republic, while GM Teimour Radjabov of Kazakhstan bowed to Konstantin Sakaev of Russia. Top seed GM Boris Gelfand of Israel eliminated GM Farrukh Amonatov of Tajikistan, 1.5-.5, and second seed GM Vugar Gashimov of Azerbaijan ousted GM Zhou Jianchao of China, 1.5-.5. Third seed GM Peter Svidler of Russia humbled Tomi Nyback of Finland to even their second-round match. No. 8 GM Alexander Grischuk of Russiia dumped GM Vladislav Tkachief of France, 1.5-.5 and No. 9 GM Dmitry Jakovenko of Russia subdued GM Chanda Sandipan of India, 2-0. - GMANews.TV