INQUIRER Sports

KHANTY-MANSIYSK, RUSSIA— The brightest young star at the 2009 World Chess Cup here tries to ride the momentum of three stunning victories when he battles another super grandmaster in the fourth round late Monday at the city’s Center of Arts.

Filipino GM Wesley So, the 16-year-old conqueror of defending champion Gata Kamsky and former World Championship finalist Vassily Ivanchuk of Russia, takes on Russian Vladimir Malakhov in one of the eight duels featuring the tournament’s 16 survivors from a field of 128.

So has been dubbed by the foreign media in this Siberian winter paradise as “a fantastic gold nugget causing the World Cup irreplaceable losses with his upset victories.”

The high school sophomore from Bacoor, Cavite, also ousted GM Gadir Guseinov of Azerbaijan in the first round.

The 22nd-seeded Malakhov (Elo 2706) sets out as the slight favorite against the brilliant 59th-seeded Filipino in the tournament that will determine the challenger to the next world champion.

Malakhov knocked out Ukrainian GM Pavel Eljanov, 4-1, with three of the wins coming via the tiebreak rapid matches.

“I know that I should always do my best in the [two-game] classical games of each round,” So, who is already assured of US$30,000 (about P1.46 million) in prize money by reaching the last 16, was quoted in the event’s official website.

“If I win one [regular] game, I’m almost there.”

In eliminating Guseinov, Ivanchuk and Kamsky, So gained psychological edge by taking the first game. He drew both second games against Kamsky and Ivanchuk to prevail, 1.5-0.5.

So, with compatriots GMs Darwin Laylo and Joey Antonio, spent the tournament’s rest day Sunday in his room preparing against the 29-year-old Malakhov, a World Championship finalist in 2004 and 2007 and ranked 31st in the world.

Antonio, who was eliminated along with fellow GM Darwin Laylo in the first round, said So will go for the win against Malakhov in the first game, “just like what he did against Ivanchuk and Kamsky.”

The winner of the So-Malakhov duel next faces the victor of the match between GMs Peter Svidler of Russia and Alexei Shirov of Spain in the quarterfinal round of this knockout-style competition.

Svidler, seeded third with an Elo of 2754, outlasted GM Arkadij Naiditsch of Germany, 5-3, while Shirov, ranked No.14 with an Elo of 2719, eliminated GM Evgeny Tomashevsky of Russia, 1.5-.5.

Top seed GM Boris Gelfand of Israel ousted former women’s world champion Judit Polgar of Hungary, 3.5-1.5, Sunday.

Gelfand (Elo 2758) recovered from a shock loss to Polgar in their second game.

Other results: GM Vugar Gashimov (Russia) d. GM Li Chao (China), 3.5-1.5; Viktor Laznicka (Czech Republic), d. GM Viktor Bologan (Moldova), 3.5-1.5; GM Nikita Vitiugov (Russia) d. GM Konstantin Sakaev (Russia), 1.5-0.5; GM Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine) d. GM Alexander Mortylev (Russia), 1.5-0.5; GM Alexander Grischuk (Russia) d. GM Baadur Jobava (Georgia), 5-3; GM Dmitry Jakovenko (Russia) d. Alexander Areschenko (Ukraine), 4-2; GM Etienne Bacrot (France) d. GM Wang Yue (China), 3.5-1.5; GM Sergey Karjakin (Ukraine) d. GM David Navara (Czech Republic), 4-1; GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) d. GM Wang Hao (China), 1.5-0.5; GM Fabiano Caruna (Italy) d. GM Evgeny Alekseev (Russia), 3.5-2.5; GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) d. GM Yu Yangyi (China), 1.5-0.5.