Confident So eyes quarters vs Russian GM

MANILA, Philippines - Wesley So, fully rested and oozing with confidence, takes on GM Vladimir Malakhov of Russia in the fourth round Monday with the youthful Filipino GM hoping to flash the same form he showed in toppling highly fancied rivals in the World Chess Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

So, described by the foreign media as “a fantastic gold nugget causing the World Cup irreplaceable losses with his upset victories,” begins his two-game showdown with the 22nd-seeded Malakhov in one of the keenly-awaited matches in the Last 16.

The 16-year-old So, shocked GM Vassily Ivanchuk, 1.5-0.5, then dethroned GM Gata Kamsky with an equally stunning 1.5-0.5 victory to gain a crack at the quarterfinal berth.

Malakhov set up a duel with the 59th-ranked So with a 4-1 win over GM Pavel Eljanov of Ukraine in their tiebreak rapid matches.

“I know that I should always do my best in the classical games of each round. If I win one game, I’m almost there,” said So, already assured of a $30,000 (around P1.46 million) in prize money by making it to the Last 16.

So spent most of his time inside his room to prepare for his next match where a victory will send the Filipino whiz to a quarterfinal showdown with any of the world’s top 15 players.

In a long-distance call to National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president/chairman Butch Pichay, GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. said So devoted most of the time analyzing the games of the 29-year-old Malakhov.

Antonio and fellow GM Darwin Laylo, who were both eliminated in the first round of the 128-player tournament, are now assisting So in his preparations, first against GM Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine in the second round and against Kamsky in the next.

A two-time world championship finalist in 2004 and 2007, Malakhov is currently ranked 31st in the world in the latest FIDE ratings. He reached as far as the second round of the 2007 world championship, losing to fellow Russian GM Alexander Grischuk, 1.5-.3.5.

Antonio said So will definitely go for the win against Malakhov in their first game to gain an early psychological advantage “just like what he did against Ivanchuk and Kamsky.”

The winner of the So-Malakhov encounter will then meet the victor of the match between GMs Peter Svidler of Russia and Alexei Shirov of Spain in the quarterfinal round of this knockout-style competition.

Svidler, seeded third, outlasted GM Arkadij Naiditsch of Germany, 5-3, while Shirov, ranked No.14, eliminated GM Evgeny Tomashevsky of Russia, 1.5-.5.

On Sunday, top seed GM Boris Gelfand of Israel beat former women world champion Judit Polgar of Hungary, 3.5-1.5. to lead the march of the favorites to the next round.

Gelfand, the highest rated player here with an ELO of 2758, recovered from a stunning setback to Polgar in their second game to win two of three rapid tiebreak matches.

Also advancing to the round 16 are second seed GM Vugar Gashimov of Russia, who crushed GM Li Chao of China, 3.5-1.5; Viktor Laznicka of Czech Republic, who subdued GM Viktor Bologan of Moldova, 3.5-1.5; GM Nikita Vitiugov of Russia, who ousted GM Konstantin Sakaev of Russia, 1.5-.5; GM Ruslan Ponomariiov of Ukraine, who bested GM Alexander Mortylev of Russia, 1.5-.5; GM Alexander Grischuk of Russia, who nipped GM Baadur Jobava of Georgia, 5-3; GM Dmitry Jakovenko of Russia, who downed Alexander Areschenko of Ukraine, 4-2; GM Etienne Bacrot of France, who outclassed GM Wang Yue of China, 3.5-1.5; GM Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine, who crushed GM David Navara of Czech Republic, 4-1; GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan, who humbled GM Wang Hao of China, 1.5-.5; GM Fabiano Caruna of Italy, who trounced GM Evgeny Alekseev of Russia, 3.5-2.5; and GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, who toppled GM Yu Yangyi of China, 1.5-.5.