GM Wesley So’s third of four efforts managed an impressive fourth place finish, his second money game, but now his final effort will have to come through if he hopes to win the 2014 Game of the Year.
This is the seventeenth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2014 USCL Game of the Year. For more information on exactly how this process works and the prize information, please refer to: Game of the Year Contest
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4th Place: GM Wesley So (STL) vs GM Conrad Holt (DAL) 1-0
With the strong 24. Rxf6!, GM So scored another impressive win, with his usual tactical skill
FM Ingvar Johannesson (2nd Place, 19 Points): Holt once again tried out the French, but So was up to the task and temporarily sacrificed a Pawn out of a Tarrasch variation and ended up with a big positional advantage with the Bishop pair. 24. Rxf6! was a really nice touch, and from there So didn’t give any chances and finished clinically. A really nice game.
FM Ron Young (4th Place, 17 Points): It’s easy to say “the wrong Rook”. It’s not so easy to say “it’s the wrong Rook, to the wrong square, though your Knights are pretty, they’re the wrong pair”. Especially if you’re not at performing at a cabaret.
FM Alisa Melekhina (5th Place, 16 Points): So harnesses the space advantage of the Advanced French structure to overpower a player known for his precision. Once again, Holt finds himself in trouble in the French. In contrast to the Naroditsky game, So takes on a calmer approach, that is equally as devastating to Black’s structure.
In the 9. Nbd2 gambit line of the Milner-Barry that I play against the French, I give up the d4 pawn immediately. White receives great compensation, but it can fizzle away if Black castles to safety. Here, So creatively sacrificed the d4 pawn even when it looked like Black was out of danger. Rather than immediately regaining it with Bxh7+, So held on to the powerful light-squared Bishop and instead chose to place pressure on the a1-h8 diagonal with the tricky 14. Bd2-c3 maneuver.
Turns out that Black can’t defend the e6 pawn. After that Pawn fell, so did Black’s position. White’s pair of Bishops were too powerful. The game really could have been a miniature and concluded after the 24. Rxf6! tactic. The fact that there was a mate on the board at the end was a nice touch. Usually games at this level conclude (either by resignation or draw) before you see mate.
GM Alejandro Ramirez (8th Place, 13 Points): A nice positional battle in which So sacrifices a Pawn for activity and central domination. The tactic with 24. Rxf6 is very aesthetically pleasing, even if somewhat simple.
IM Priyadharshan Kannappan (12th Place, 9 Points): Once again Wesley showed amazing home preparation, and I was really surprised by how Holt was out prepared in his favorite French. I wouldn’t rate this game too high because of the very deep opening preparation, and poor time management by Holt which led this game to be no contest.
Total Score of So vs Holt: (4th Place, 74 Points)
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Stay tuned for three more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2014 Game of the Year!
Week 7: GM Joel Benjamin (NJ) vs GM Holden Hernandez (RIO) 1-0 Article
Week 8: GM Daniel Naroditsky (SF) vs GM Conrad Holt (DAL) 1/2-1/2 Article
Semifinals: GM Wesley So (STL) vs GM Julio Becerra (MIA) 1-0 Article
Eliminated:
4th Place (74 Points): GM Wesley So (STL) vs GM Conrad Holt (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
5th Place (72 Points): GM Niclas Huschenbeth (BAL) vs GM Wesley So (STL) 1/2-1/2 Article Elimination Article
6th Place (67 Points): GM Alex Lenderman (CON) vs GM Gata Kamsky (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
7th Place (61 Points): GM Wesley So (STL) vs GM Alex Lenderman (CON) 1/2-1/2 Article Elimination Article
8th Place (60 Points): IM David Vigorito (NE) vs FM Andrew Shvartsman (MAN) 1/2-1/2 Article Elimination Article
9th Place (55 Points): GM Anton Kovalyov (RIO) vs GM Daniel Naroditsky (SF) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
10th Place (55 Points): GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
11th Place (48 Points): GM Anton Kovalyov (RIO) vs GM Gata Kamsky (NY) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
12th Place (48 Points): GM Niclas Huschenbeth (BAL) vs GM Julio Becerra (MIA) 1/2-1/2 Article Elimination Article
13th Place (42 Points): GM Daniel Naroditsky (SF) vs GM Conrad Holt (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
14th Place (41 Points): GM Varuzhan Akobian (STL) vs GM Renier Gonzalez (MIA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
15th Place (38 Points): GM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) vs GM Eugene Perelshteyn (BOS) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
16th Place (36 Points): IM Jeffery Xiong (DAL) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (STL) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
17th Place (36 Points): GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs IM Jeffery Xiong (DAL) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
18th Place (32 Points): GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Conrad Holt (DAL) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
19th Place (20 Points): IM Georgi Orlov (SEA) vs GM Alex Stripunsky (NJ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
20th Place (19 Points): IM Kassa Korley (CAR) vs GM Julio Becerra (MIA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article