So beats Colombian; Sadorra loses

Philippine-born Grandmaster Wesley So and Filipino GM Julio Catalino Sadorra took different routes in the World Chess Cup 2017 opener Sunday night in Tbilisi, Georgia.

So, the tournament’s second seed now representing the US, beat Colombian International Master Joshua Daniel Ruiz Castillo with the black pieces while Sadorra, also US-based, handled white but bowed to Russian GM Maxim Matlakov.

So, toting an Elo of 2810, only needs to draw against Castillo (Elo 2377) in Game 2 to advance to the round of 32. Sadorra, on the other hand, is in a must-win situation against Matlakov to forge a playoff.

World champion GM Magnus Carlsen of Norway also won his opening match against Nigerian Fide Master Oluwafemi Balogun to join So and 33 others on the verge of barging into the second round of the $1.6M event. —ROY LUARCA