So starts Aeroflot chess campaign with a draw

MOSCOW - GM Wesley So of the Philippines started his campaign in the 2010 Aeroflot Open chess championship with a draw with GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami of Iran Tuesday at the Hotel Gamma-Delta (Wednesday in Manila). So, who bagged the top junior award in this prestigious tournament last year, and Ghaem Maghami agreed to a truce after only 25 moves of the Caro Kann Exchange variation.

The 16-year-old Filipino champion, who rarely settles for a draw, offered one against the white-playing Ghaem Maghami when the game reached a position which offered very little opportunity to exploit. When the game was agreed drawn, both Ghaem Maghami and So have the same number of pieces on the board: queen, two rooks, bishop and five pawns. The draw was the fourth in five head-to-head matches for So and Ghaem Maghami. The Iranian, however, holds a 3-2 record over So in their personal battle, having defeated his younger opponent in Macau in October 2008. Laylo falls The other Filipino campaigner, GM Darwin Laylo, was not a lucky, however. Laylo, the reigning Asian Zone 3.3 champion, bowed to GM Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan. The 29th-seeded Mamedov (ELO 2640) beat Laylo in only 26 moves despite handling the black side of the board. In the second round, So will meet GM Dimitry Bocharov of Russia while Laylo will play GM Eltaj Safarli of Azerbaijan. Defending champion GM Etienne Bacrot of France outduelled GM Vladimir Potkin of Russia to lead the march of the favorites on opening day. Also hurdling their first round assignments were GM Alexander Motylev of Russia, who whipped GM Alexander Shabalov of the US; GM Bu Xiangzhi of China, who outplayed GM Vladimir Belov of Russia; and GM Ivan Cheparinov of Bulgaria, who downed GM Josep Manu Martinez of Spain. Top seed GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, however, was held to a draw by GM Zaven Andriasian of Armenia. Also settling for half point were fourth seed GM Gata Kamsky of the US, who drew with GM Sanan Sjugirov of Russia; fifth seed GM Andrei Volokotin of Ukraine, who split the point with GM Ildar Khairullin of Russia; Sixth seed GM Arkadij Naiditsch of Germany, who halved the point with GM Jaan Ehlvest of the US; seventh seed GM Gabriel Sargissian of Armenia, who drew with GM Zhou Weiqi of China; and eighth seed GM Alexander Moiseenko of Ukraine, who drew with GM Evgeny Romanov of Russia. The biggest surprises were brought by GM Aleksandr Rakhmanov of Russia, who upset GM Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia; GM Tatiana Kosintseva, who toppled GM Sergey Volkov of Russia; and IM Nadezhda Kosintseva, who shocked GM Farukh Amonatov of Tajikistan. The total prize fund in the Aeroflot tournament is 70,000 euro, with the champion getting the lion’s share of 21,000 euro, the runner-up receiving 12,000 euro and the third placer pocketing 7,000 euro. Cash prizes will also be given from the fourth to the 30th placer. Aside from the cash prizes, the champion will also get outright invitation to play in the prestigious Dortmund tournament . Last year, So finished in a heavy tie for 17th to 36th places with five points on three wins, four draws and two losses in the nine-round tournament. The Filipino pride, however, bagged the top junior award by finishing ahead of fellow world junior campaigners GM Eltaj Safarli of Azerbaijan, GM Sanan Sjugirov of Russia and IM Ray Robson of the US. So finished 1.5 points behind GMs Etienne Bacrot of France and Alexander Moiseenko of Ukraine. - GMANews.TV