So running 2nd in super strong tournament

MANILA, Philippines – On Thursday night, Filipino chess fans will be wired to their mobile device, PC or even text messages from friends on Wesley So’s adventure at the Gashimov Memorial in Shamkir, Azerbaijian.

The games start at 6pm and usually end at 10pm. Small, boisterous groups armed with chess software on their computers toss comments and sometimes insults until the administrator of a website shuts the person up or is kicked out.

So is ranked second after the fifth round Tuesday night (Manila time) with 3.5 points, half-a-point behind world champion Magnus Carlsen.

Four rounds are left in this year’s strongest chess tournament where So will play world champion Magnus Carlsen and world No. 2 Fabiano Caruana.

He has recovered from his meltdown at the US Championship where lost four games, one by forfeit to be the surprise leader at the Gashimov Memorial after four rounds.

It was former world champion Viswanathan Anand of India, who has many Filipino fans, who brought So down to earth in a beautiful game where the ex-Filipino did not have a chance to save the position.

There were no snide remarks from Filipino chess fans as they considered Anand practically a Filipino having lived in the Philippines in the early 1980s when his father was a consultant with the Philippine National Railway

In 45 moves of a Ruy Lopez, Anand relentlessly assaulted So’s position in the style that endeared him to Filipino chess fans in the early 1980s. There were no snide remarks on the chess sites as Filipinos consider Anand as their idol.

So, born in Bacoor, Cavite, is now playing for the United States. It was quite strange to see the two Philippine chess idols across the board in live streaming coverage.

It has been a smooth tournament for So as he finally defeated arch-enemy Anish Giri of the Netherlands in Round 1, drew former world champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia before beating Michael Adams of Great Britain and Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijian. – Rappler.com