Wesley turns back Russian in 32 moves

MOSCOW – GM Wesley So came back strong in the second round and hammered out an impressive win over GM Dmitry Bocharov of Russia in the 2010 Aeroflot Open chess championship at the Hotel Gamma-Delta of the Ismailovo Tourist Complex here late Wednesday.

So, who settled for a draw with GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami of Iran in the opening round Tuesday, emerged from a tense middle game battle and came away with the victory in 32 moves of the Sicilian Defense Taimanov variation.

The 16-year-old Filipino champion, who bagged the top junior award in the same tournament last year, pounced on a blunder by the lower-rated Russian on the 29th and sealed the win three moves later.

Although falling behind on clock, So maneuvered his queen, bishops and kingside pawns towards Bocharov’s king in the endgame.

The win hiked So‘s output to 1.5 points for a share of third in the 80-player tournament.


So stood half a point behind GM Bu Xiang Zhi of China and GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam, who swept their first two matches.

Bu toppled GM Boris Savchenko of Russia, while Le shocked defending champion GM Etienne Bacrot of France.

Top seed GM Macime Vachier-Lagrave of France whipped IM Mikhaiel Krylov of Russia to join So and 30 others in the 1.5-pointer group.

So takes on Southeast Asian rival GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam in the third round.

Nguyen, seeded 40th, outclassed GM Stanislav Novikov of Russia.

But while So got going, compatriot and reigning Asian Zone 3.3 champion GM Darwin Laylo reeled back with a second straight setback.

Laylo battled former world junior campaigner GM Eltaj Safarli of Azerbaijan on even terms with the black but later lost a piece in the ensuing exchanges. He resigned after 48 moves.

In the third round, Laylo will meet GM Markus Ragger of Austria.

Source: Author Unknown  | Philstar.com