Right moves: So is chess gold nugget in '09

Being described as a “gold nugget" by the chess-crazy Russians during the 2009 World Chess Cup in Khanty-Mansiyk, Russia is proof enough of a sterling year for the Philippines’ top woodpusher Wesley So. The 16-year-old So carved RP chess history by making it to the 16-player fourth round of the world’s biggest individual chess competition, surpassing the achievements of GMs Joey Antonio and Mark Paragua, who reached as far as the second round. Asia's first GM Eugene Torre qualified as far as the quarterfinal stage but in a different world championship elimination format. And So did it in style, claiming the scalps of two elite players along the way.

After opening his World Cup campaign with a 4-1 win over GM Gadir Guseinov of Azerbaijan, So stunned former world championship contender Vassily Ivanchuk of the Ukraine (ELO 2739), 1.5-.5, and 2008 World Cup titlist Gata Kamsky of the US (ELO 2695), 1.5-.5 to reach the Last-16 round. He fell short of a quarterfinal berth, though, losing to GM Vladimir Malakhov (ELO 2706) of Russia, 1-4. So’s strong performance against more-experienced rivals earned praise from the Russian hosts. “It is obvious: a new fantastic “gold nugget" has been found in Khanty Mansiysk now," the hosts wrote about So in the World Cup’s website. “Most probably in the nearest future, he will aspire for a place among the chess elite. And this is clear: no one from the high-class favourites can defeat him here." Tournament commentator GM Sergey Shirov added: “The fact that Wesley So was born and grew up in a non-chess country, the Philippines, speaks about his fantastic talent." The 2009 World Cup also marked the first time that three Filipinos – So, Antonio and reigning Asian 3.3 zone champion GM Darwin Laylo – qualified for the tourney. So, who earlier won the overall title in Group C of the 71st Corus Chess Tournament in Wijk Aan Zee, Netherlands last February, is looking to breach the super-GM norm of 2700 next year. As it is, the Pinoy ace already totes an ELO rating of 2640 as of Dec. 24, the highest among all Filipinos and all under-16 players in the world. Overall, he is 101st in the world. So reached his peak at 2646 in the July 2009 FIDE ranking, then surpassing Paragua’s previous RP best of 2621 achieved in April 2006. Without a doubt, So made all the right moves in 2009. – Olmin R. Leyba, GMANews.TV