Filipino grandmaster Wesley So defeated Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi in convincing fashion to nail down the 79th Tata Steel Chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands to open the year 2017 with aplomb.
So, a 24-year old former member of the Philippine team who plays for the United States, scored nine points out of a possible 10 to stay undefeated and to protect a 56-game winning streak that dates back to January 2016.
For the second time running, So edged out reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen from a tournament win. So also won the London Classic in December to leapfrog to No. 4 in the world with an 2808 ELO rating.
In the final round, Nepomniachtchi used an off-beat line to treat So’s French Defense but soon found himself on the defensive straight out of the opening.
“I’ve achieved one of my goals which is to win this very prestigious tournament,” So was quoted as saying.
Here’s is So in his final victory:
1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. dxc5 e65. e4 h6 6. Bh4 dxe4 7. Qe2 Qa5 8. O-O-OSimply not correct. So started calculating, and didn’t see anything for his opponent after…(8. c3Karpov)8… Qxa2 9. Qb5+?Only this is really bad.(First9. Bxf6was still playable.)9… Nbd7 10. c6 bxc6 11. Qxc6Bb7!Winning on the spot. 12. Qxb7Qa1+ 13. Nb1 Rb8 14. Qxb8+ Nxb815. Bb5+ Nfd7 16. Ne2 Be7 17. Bxe7Kxe7 18. Nd4 Nc5 19. h4 Rd8 20. Rh3Nd3+ 21. Bxd3 Rxd4 22. Be2 Rxd1+23. Bxd1 Qa5 24. Nd2 f5 25. Rg3 Qe526. Ra3 Nc6 27. g3 Qd4 28. Re3 Nb4
After winning this tournament, So now has a streak of not losing 56 games in a row. He won the Sinquefield Cup in August last year, then Olympic team gold and individual gold in Baku, then the London Chess Classic and now Wijk aan Zee. Being the hottest man in chess would be an understatement.
