INQUIRER Sports

KHANTY-MANSIYSK, RUSSIA?FILIPINO Grandmaster Wesley So showed his rapid game prowess and advanced to the second round of the 2009 World Chess Cup at the Khanty-Mansiysk Festival of Arts.

The 16-year-old So swept his three rapid (25 minutes) tiebreak matches with GM Gadir Guseino of Azerbaijan on Monday to forge a 4-1 victory and barge into the 64-player second round of the six-part biennial competition.

So was left to carry the fight for the Philippines after GM Darwin Laylo yielded to No. 21 seed GM David Navara of Czech Republic, 1-2, and joined compatriot GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. among the 64 first-round casualties.

It will be an uphill battle for So in the second round, however, as the high school senior from St. Francis Assisi-Bacoor will be battling Ukrainian GM Vassily Ivanchuk, ranked 12th in the world with an Elo of 2739.

The 40-year-old Ivanchuk, seeded sixth in the tournament, trounced Russian GM Alexei Bezgrodov of Russia, 2-0, in their first round matchup.

Though Ivanchuk will be the highest-rated player So has ever faced, the country?s top player with an Elo of 2640 is expected to put up a good fight based on his past matches against super GMs.

In the 2008 Dresden Chess Olympiad, So stunned Chinese Ni Hua and drew with Latvian-born Alexei Shirov, who is now playing for Spain. So also drew with GM Serjey Karjakin (Elo 2723) of Russia in last year?s Asian Chess Team Championship in Al Ain, UAE.

After winning the first game, the 59th seed So was forced into the rapid tiebreak stage after he bowed to Guseinov in the second game.

Laylo, the pride of Lipa City making his second straight appearance in the event, stunned Navara (Elo 2707) in the second game to send the match into the tiebreak stage.

They drew the first two rapid games, but Laylo yielded the next two games to bow out of contention.

Antonio became the first Filipino casualty after he bowed to defending champion and No. 27 seed GM Gata Kamsky of the United States, 0.5-1.5.

Top seed GM Boris Gelfand of Israel led the march of the favorites to the second round after disposing of International Master Andrei Obodchuk of Russia, 1.5-.5.

Others who advanced were second seed GM Vugar Gashimov of Azerbaijan, who blanked IM Walaa Sarwat of Egypt, 2-0, and third seed GM Peter Svidler of Russia, who dumped IM Jean Hebert of Canada, 2-0.