Wesley So Proceeds to Round 2 in World Chess Cup 2011

In the tie-break, GM Wesley So (ELO 2658) wins with white in the first tie-break game and agreed to a draw in a winning position with 2 pawns up in the second game to secure a win in the Round 1 of World Chess Cup 2011 against GM Liren Ding of China.

This is definitely a day of celebration for team Philippines. But wait, he's up against the top seed GM Sergey Karjakin (ELO 2788) of Russia in the second round.

Will this be the biggest upset so far in the tournament? We'll find out later today August 31, 2011 at around 5PM Philippine time. We'll surely watch out for it! Go Wesley So!

How Mark Paragua Missed Some Winning Combinations in World Chess Cup 2011

It's Game 2 in Round 1 of World Chess Cup 2011 between GM Michael Adams (2715) of England and Mark Paragua (ELO 2545) of the Philippines. Adams already clinched the first game, so Paragua playing as black need to win this game in order to proceed to the tie-breaks.

Adams actually started out strong at the start of the game until he committed a blunder on his 36th move, which however Mark failed to capitalize on. He missed some more opportunities to draw the total control of the game.

[caption id="attachment_127" align="alignnone" width="348" caption="Posittion after 46. ... gxh5."][/caption]

After black's 46th move, although computer analyses will tell that black clearly has an advantage, with the accurate moves from Michael Adams, the game is a draw. And so it did after white's 111th move.

It was a long but exciting game. Replay the game 2 between GM Michael Adams vs. GM Mark Paragua in World Chess Cup 2011 Round 1.

Wesley So vs. Liren Ding Round 1 World Chess Cup 2011

Now the match stands at 1-1 after both GM Wesley So of the Philippines and GM Liren Ding of China drew both their games at the first round of World Chess Cup 2011.

I don't have yet the time to run the analysis at my own machine, so I'll just be posting the analysis by the GM's at chessdom.com. Replay the Game 2 L. Ding vs. W. So here.

We have to watch out for the tie-breaks tomorrow, including rapid games, and if necessary -- blitz games.

The World Chess Cup 2011 Tie-Break System

While Game 2 of the 1st Round in the World Chess Cup 2011 is underway in Khanty-Mansiysk, we're expecting a lot of matches tied at 1-1, including that of our favorite, GM Wesley So. You must be wondering what happens in these cases.

The rule states:

Except for the final, all rounds will have 2-game matches at the FIDE time control: 90 minutes for 40 moves followed by 30 minutes to finish the game, with a 30-second increment from the first move. In case of a 1-1 tie, on the third day of the round a tie-break is played. A tie-break consists of 2 games (25 minutes + 10 seconds increment). In case of a 2-2 score, 2 more games will be played at 10 minutes + 10 seconds increment and then, if needed, 2 games of 5 minutes + 3 increment. If necessary, the tie-break will end with an Armageddon game with White getting 5 minutes and Black 4 and 3 seconds increment starting from move 61. In this game, a draw means the player behind the black pieces goes through. The final will played over 4 games at the FIDE time control and if necessary a tie-break on the day of the closing ceremony.

So, it means that, except for the final game, a maximum of 9 games can be played between the two players at each match up if they end up a draw all the way after each pair of games.

Wesley So Draws with Liren Ding in Game 1 Round of World Chess Cup 2011

GM Wesley So playing white drew his first game against Liren Ding in Round 1 of World Chess Cup 2011.

[caption id="attachment_115" align="alignnone" width="446" caption="Wesley So vs. Liren Ding position after Black's 33rd move"][/caption]

Although the computer analysis particularly from Stockfish and Rybka indicated a slight advantage for white up to the 37th moves from each side, it was slight indeed and Wesley failed to materialize on.

Click here if you want to replay the game between GM Wesley So and GM Liren Ding.

Game 2 is slated for today at around 5PM Philippine time.

World Chess Cup 2011

World Chess Cup 2011 is underway on this weekend. The round 1 games will commence on Sunday, August 28, 2011, 15:00 Khanty Mansiysk, Russia local time -- which converts to Sunday, August 28, 2011, 17:00 Philippine Time. That's 5PM on Sunday.

Two players are participating from the Philippines, GM Wesley So (ELO 2658) and GM Mark Paragua (ELO 2545).

Paragua (108th seed) will be up against the 21st seed, an elite chess player from England, GM Michael Adams (ELO 2715), in the first round. So, on the other hand, was seeded 64th and will be up against the 65th from China, GM Liren Ding (ELO 2654). Obviously, the So vs. Ding battle is expected to be more exciting.

[caption id="attachment_101" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Liren Deng in his serious moment over the board"][/caption]

Check out the official website of the tournament (which by the way is a WordPress site), the list of participants, and the tournament schedule in Khanty Mansiysk time.

Interview with Wesley So

Chess master William Stewart of OnlineChessLessons.net had a text interview with our very own GM Wesley So on his rise to becoming a Grandmaster and his usual practice or study routine. Read the interview.

Stewart also analyzed So's game way back in the 2009 World Cup against GM Gadir Guseinov. Check out the video below: