ShareThisLUBBOCK, Texas — Filipino sensation GM Wesley So lost for the second time in three games, this time to GM Alexander Onischuk of the United States, and fell to a tie for third place in the 2010 SPICE (Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence) at the Texas Tech University here Thursday.
So missed the right continuation in a wild middle game skirmish against the higher-rated and more-experienced Onischuk and resigned after only 32 moves of Capablanca variation of the Nimzo-Indian defense.
Wesley So
When the end came, So had a rook and six pawns against Onischuk’s two bishops and five pawns.
The American champion, however, is threatening to gobble up So’s queenside pawns and push his unstoppable a-pawn on the sixth rank two squares forward for promotion.
The loss left the 17-year-old Filipino champion in a two-way tie for third to fourth places with top seed GM Zoltan Almasi of Hungary with eight points on two wins, two draws and two losses in this six-player, category-16 tournament organized by four-time women’s world champion and chess ambassador Susan Polgar.
GM George Meier of Germany defeated GM Ray Robson of the United States in another crucial encounter to pull away with 14 points on four wins and two draws.
Onischuk vaulted into solo second place with 11 points based on the unique scoring system that gives two points for a win, one point for a draw and zero for a loss.
Almasi, the highest-rated player here with an ELO of 2707, halved the point with GM Eugene Perelshteyn of the United States in the other match.
National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president Prospero “Butch” Pichay urged So to set aside the loss to Onischuk and concentrate on his remaining games to get back into contention.
“Wesley is still in good position in third place despite his 2-2-2 win-draw-loss record. And knowing Wesley, he can easily bounce back into contention with a pair of victories against lower-placed opponents in the next two rounds,” said Pichay.
In the seventh round, So tries to recover lost ground when he plays white against Perelshteyn.
The high school graduate of St. Francis College (Bacoor) defeated Perelshteyn with the disadvantageous black pieces in the first half of the two-part tournament.
Other crucial seventh-round matches pit Onischuk against Meier and Almasi against Robson.
His eighth-round opponent is Robson, whom he also defeated in the third round.
He concludes his campaign against Meier in the ninth round and Almasi in the 10th and final round.
The tournament is being held in this sprawling Texas university noted for its Spanish Renaissance-inspired buildings and beautifully-landscaped grounds. (PNA)