Wonderful Wesley

YourNextMove Grand Chess Tour 2016 Leuven, Belgium June 17-20, 2016

Combined (Rapid+Blitz) Final Standings Magnus Carlsen, 23.0/36 ($37,500) Wesley So, 20.5/36 ($30,000) Levon Aronian, 20.0/36 ($15,000)

Viswanathan Anand, 19. 5/ 36 ($15,000) Fabiano Caruana, 17.5/36 ($15,000) Maxime Vachier Lagrave, 17.0/ 36 ($7,500) Hikaru Nakamura, 16.5/36 ($7,500) Vladimir Kramnik, 16.0/36 ($7,500) Anish Giri, 16.0/36 ($7,500) Veselin Topalov, 14.0/36 ($7,500) Magnus Carlsen won the YourNextMove Grand Chess Tour in Leuven with 3 rounds to play. That was no big surprise – what was not expected was that Hikaru Nakamura, the highest rated player in online blitz in history, would finish so low. Also considered an upset was the performance of Wesley So who finished in second place.

Wesley started the tournament as the lowest rated in rapid play (25 minutes playto-finish with 10 seconds added after every move) – compare his 2652 vs Carlsen’s 2878 or Nakamura’s 2846. The strategy therefore in the 9 round rapid section was to avoid loss and his two win seven draw no loss score is of course a great success. After the Paris and Leuven rapid events Wesley has added 107 points and brought up his rapid rating to 2759, no. 17 in the world.

Wesley So: “Okay! I have the lowest rating among all the contenders. Embarrassingly low. Like 200 points lower than some of them. But I am tied for third place. Wow. Before this week I hadn’t played a rated rapid game in .... I think about five years. God is so good to me. Still 18 rounds of blitz to go and have no idea where I’ll finally wind up but wanting to thank God publicly for what I see as a miracle.” *** Topalov, Veselin (2761) - So, Wesley (2770) [A10]

YourNextMove GCT Rapid Leuven (7.3), 18.06.2016

Wesley beat former world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria 3–0. Topalov was not in his best form in Leuven but this is still a big accomplishment. 1.c4 g6 2.e4 e5 3.d4 Nf6

This is a specialty of the Hungarian players Sax and Adorjan. 4.dxe5 Nxe4 5.Qd4

[ 5. Nf3?! Bc5; 5. Qd5?! Bb4+ 6.Nd2 f5! with the idea of ...c6 and ...Qb6] 5...Nc5 6.Nc3

[6.e6 f6 7.exd7+ Bxd7 gives Black too big a developmental advantage]

6...Ne6 7.Qe4 Bg7 8.Be3 Nc6 9.f4 0–0 10.0–0–0 d6!

Obvious and strong. Black gives up a pawn to open up the position.

11.c5e7 12.cxd6 cxd6 13.Rxd6 Qc7 14.g4 Nc5 15.Qc4 b6 16.Bxc5 bxc5 17.h3 Rb8

To be followed by ...Rb4 and ...Bb7. 18.Qe2 Rb4 19.Qd2 Rd4 20.Rxd4 cxd4 21.Qxd4

Now White’s two pawns up.

21...Rd8 22.Qf2 Nd5 23.Nge2 Nb4 24.Kb1 Nd3 25.Qh4 Bb7 26.Rh2 Rb8

Wesley can already play 26... Nxb2 27.Kxb2 Rd2+ 28.Kc1 Rxe2 29.Rxe2 Qxc3+ 30.Kb1 Qd3+ 31.Kb2 Bf8! but there is no rush. 27.b3

Otherwise ...Nxb2. 27...Nxf4 28.Nxf4 Qxc3 0–1

Topalov gave up. He did not want to see 28...Qxc3 29.Nd3 (otherwise ...Bxe5) 29... Be4 30.Qg3 (30.Rc2 Bxd3 31.Bxd3 Qxe5 32.Kc1 Qe3+ 33.Rd2 Bh6) 30...Rc8 mate cannot be prevented.

In the previous Grand Chess Tour event in Paris Wesley also did well in the rapid but bombed in blitz (Five minutes playto-finish with 2 seconds added after every move). This time he was more careful and five wins nine draws and four losses got him second place overall, enough to gain 64.8 points to add to his blitz rating which is now 2790.8, no. 13 in the world.

If you want to succeed in blitz chess one essential element is endgame technique. Tactical prowess can only get you so far — most of your points have to be nailed down in the endgame. Back in the 70s the Philippines’ best blitz player was IM Ruben Rodriguez, and he was far and away our best endgame player — when the game reaches that stage Ruben would move instantaneously and usually score the point no matter if the position on the board is won, theoretically drawn, or even disadvantageous. I have seen him execute mate with bishop and knight against a lone king using up only a few seconds on the clock.

A few years back Wesley acknowledged that his endgame technique needed a lot of work. It appears that he has come a long way towards achieving this goal for in Leuven the Filipino-American won two very difficult rook and pawn endgames against blitz specialists Hikaru Nakamura and Vachier-Lagrave. Don’t be put off by the length of the next game and marvel at the achievement of getting the win at two seconds per move! *** So, Wesley (2770) - Nakamura, Hikaru (2787) [A18] YourNextMove GCT Blitz Leuven (14.5), 19.06.2016 1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.e4 d5

This is the Flohr-Mikenas line in the English Opening. I haven’t seen Wesley use it as White, but with Black he is lethal. In fact, the only loss on record he has with it was from Las Vegas 2014, against Nakamura!

4.cxd5 exd5 5.e5 Ne4 6.Nf3 Bf5 7.d4 Bb4 8.Bd2 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 0–0 10.Be2 Nd7 11.0–0 c5 12.dxc5 Nxc3 13.bxc3 Nxc5 14.Rc1 Rc8 15.Nd4 Bd7 16.c4 dxc4 17.Bxc4 Qe7 18.Re1 Kh8 19.Qf3 Be6 20.Nxe6 Nxe6 21.Bxe6 fxe6?!

An inaccuracy. 21...Rxc1 22.Rxc1 Qxe6 23.Qxb7 Qxa2 is ok, but perhaps Nakamura wanted the open f-file to keep his rook active. Wesley’s superlative play proves the e6–pawn to be weak. 22.Rxc8 Rxc8 23.h3 b5?

Too optimistic. He allows White to get his rook to d6. 23...Rf8 24.Qe3 b6 25.Rd1 Rd8 is safer. 24.Rd1 h6

Now 24...Rd8 is not playable: 25.Rxd8+ Qxd8 26.Qc6 wins a pawn. 25.Rd6 Rf8 26.Qc6 Qh4

Countering against the f2 pawn.

27.Qc5 Qc4

Nakamura did not like 27...Qe4 28.f3 Qb1+ 29.Kh2 Qxa2 30.Rd7 and decides to simplify to a pawn-down rook ending which he is confident he can draw.

28.Qxc4 bxc4 29.Rc6 Rf5 30.Rxe6 c3 31.Rc6 Rxe5 32.Rxc3 Re1+ 33.Kh2 Re2 34.Ra3 Rxf2 35.Rxa7 Rb2 36.Kg3 <D>

POSITION AFTER 36.KG3

This is where the game begins. If you remove all kingside pawns from the board this is a book draw. So that is what Nakamura sets out to do.]

36...Kh7 37.a4 Kg6 38.a5 Ra2 39.a6 h5 40.h4 Ra4 41.Ra8 Rg4+ 42.Kh3 Ra4 43.Ra7 Ra3+ 44.Kh2 Ra4 45.g3 Ra2+ 46.Kg1 Kf6 47.Kf1 g5 48.hxg5+ Kxg5 49.Ra8

This is a well-known motif — White will push his pawn to a7 and then check black from behind followed by queening his pawn. That is why the black king has to rush back to g7 or h7. 49...Kg6

[49...h4? 50.a7] 50.Ke1 Kg7 51.Kd1 Kh7 52.Kc1 Kg7

Simplest is 52...h4! 53.gxh4 Ra4 54.a7 Rc4+ 55.Kb1 Ra4 56.Kb2 Ra5 57.Kb3 Ra1 58.Kb4 Kg7 59.h5 Ra6 60.Kb5 Ra1 61.Kb6 (61. h6+ Kh7!!) 61... Rb1+ 62. Ka6 Ra1+ White cannot make any progress. 53.Kb1 Ra5 54.Kb2 Ra4?

[54...h4! is imperative: 55.gxh4 Rb5+ 56.Kc3 Rb6 57.Kc4 Rf6 58.a7 Rf4+ 59.Kb5 Rf5+ (59...Rxh4? loses because his king on g7 blocks his rook from checking on the 7th rank) 60.Kb6 Rf6+ 61.Kb7 Rf7+ etc 55.Kb3 Ra1 56.Kb4 Rb1+ 57.Kc5 Rc1+ 58.Kb6 Rb1+ 59.Ka7 Rb3 60.Rb8?

A blemish in an otherwise perfect endgame. The only winning move here is 60.Rc8! Rxg3 61.Rc5 (the key is for the rook to reach the c5 square, something like the building a bridge technique. You will see why later. 61...h4 62.Kb6 Rg6+ (62...Rb3+ 63.Rb5) 63.Kb7 and the pawn queens. 60...Rxg3 61.Rb5 Kh6 62.Kb6 h4?

Nakamura misses the draw which could be had with 62...Rg6+! 63.Ka5 (This is the difference — with the rook on b5 White’s king does not have shelter with 63.Kb7 Rg7+) 63...Rg7 64.Rb7 Rg5+ and Black keeps checking the king from the side. If White tries to tuck in his king on a7 then 65.Kb6 Rg6+ 66.Ka7 h4! 67.Rb6 h3 and it is still a draw. 63.a7! Rg8

[63...Rg8 64.Ka6 h3 65.Rb3 h2 66.Rh3+]

64.Kb7 Rg7+ 65.Ka6 Rg8 66.Rb8 Rg1 67.Rb5 Rg8 68.Rc5! The right square for the rook.

68...Rh8 69.Kb7 Rh7+ 70.Kb8 h3 71.a8Q 1–0

There will be two more events in the Grand Chess Tour, the Sinquefield Cup (Aug. 5-14) and the London Chess Classic (Dec. 9-18). The regulations of the Tour state that a player’s top 3 results in the four tournaments will be counted towards his overall score which in turn will determine how much of the $150,000 tour prize fund (this is in addition to the prize money the players receive in each tournament) he will go home will. Champion gets an additional $75,000.

As of now Wesley So is tied for second overall with Hikaru Nakamura. The leader is Magnus Carlsen who however will not be able to participate in the final two events because of his world title defense against Sergey Karjakin. Wesley has a good chance of winning it all. Wouldn’t that be something?