Wesley So wins Chessable Masters 2021

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
8/9/2021 – A draw in the second set of the finals was enough for Wesley So to secure first place at the second edition of the Chessable Masters. The Filipino-born grandmaster thus obtained his third title in this year’s Champions Chess Tour. Le Quang Liem finished in a remarkable second place, while Vladislav Artemiev got the bronze after beating Levon Aronian in the match for third place.

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A third title for So

Wesley So entered the second edition of the Chessable Masters as the third seed, but given his track record in similar tournaments, he should always be considered either the favourite or the second favourite (if Magnus Carlsen is included in the lineup) in these events.

The Filipino-born grandmaster did not disappoint, as he won the preliminary stage and went on to convincingly win the tournament, knocking out Jorden van Foreest, Vladislav Artemiev and Le Quang Liem without ever needing to take his matches to blitz tiebreakers. Having won 3 out of 8 events in this year’s tour, he stands in clear second place in the overall tour standings. His earnings in the series amount to $179,590!

Meltwater Champions Chess Tour

The second set started badly for So, as he lost with black after failing to find a move that would have, out of the blue, saved him a half point.

 
Le vs. So - Game 1

Le had not played the most precise moves to convert what had been a clear advantage with his major pieces so deep into the opposite camp. Thus, So here could have saved a draw with 30...Qf1, and White cannot prevent Black from giving a perpetual check — the light-squared bishop plays a major role from c2, defending h7.

The American did not find this recourse, though, and went for 30...Rxd8. There followed 31.Qxd8 Kg8 32.Re8 and Black resigned, with mate in 6 on the board.

So missed some clear winning chances in game 2, but then managed to level the score with a victory in game 3. Le got to make waves in the fourth game of the day, which he needed to win to take the match to tiebreaks, but So kept things under control and got the half point that gave him overall victory in the online event.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 Qb6 6.dxc5 Qxb2 7.Rb1 Qc3 8.Bb5 g6 9.e4 dxe4 10.Be5 Qa5 11.0-0 exf3 12.Bxc6+ bxc6 13.Qxf3 Nd5 14.Bxh8 Qxd2 15.c4 f6 16.Rfe1 Kf7 17.cxd5 Qxd5 18.Qc3 Be6 19.Qe3 Bf5 20.Rbd1 Qxa2 21.h3 h5 22.Qf3 Kg8 23.g4 hxg4 24.hxg4 Bc2 25.Rd7 Kxh8 26.Rexe7 Qa1+ 27.Kh2 g5 28.Qxc6 Rb8 29.Qc7 Qb1 30.Rd8 Rxd8 31.Qxd8 Kg8 32.Re8 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Le,Q2709So,W27721–02021D02Chessable Masters KO2.1
So,W2772Le,Q2709½–½2021C78Chessable Masters KO2.2
Le,Q2709So,W27720–12021D04Chessable Masters KO2.3
So,W2772Le,Q2709½–½2021A59Chessable Masters KO2.4

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Artemiev outplays Aronian

In the match for third place, Levon Aronian misplayed two endgame positions in a row. The Armenian could have got the advantage going into game 3, but instead was on the back foot after two encounters.

 
Artemiev vs. Aronian - Game 1

Here, playing Black, Aronian would have won the game with his connected passers by going for, among other moves, 56...Nc3. His 56...Ke7, on the other hand, allows the white king to blockade the pawns after 57.Ke5. GM Karsten Müller showed all the relevant lines and explanations in his analysis below.

GM Müller also looked at game 2, in which Aronian could have saved a draw in a materially balanced rook endgame.

 
Aronian vs. Artemiev - Game 2

Both 46.Re1 and 46.Rh3 draw for White, while 46.Re2 runs into 46...Kg4 47.c5 Kf3, when Black gains an important tempo by attacking the rook. Artemiev went on to convert his advantage into a 61-move win. 

The Russian grandmaster also won game 3 to secure third place. As shown in the overall standings table at the start of the article, Artemiev has reached 9th place after playing only two events, having accumulated 58 tour points and $23,500 in prize money.

GM Müller analysed games 1 and 2 in the replayer below.

 
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1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.Qa4+ Nbd7 6.Qxc4 a6 7.Qc2 c5 8.Nc3 Qc7 9.0-0 b6 10.d4 Bb7 11.Bf4 Bd6 12.Bxd6 Qxd6 13.Rfd1 0-0 14.Rac1 Rac8 15.dxc5 Qxc5 16.Qd2 Rfd8 17.Ng5 Bxg2 18.Kxg2 Nf8 19.Qe3 Qxe3 20.fxe3 Rxd1 21.Rxd1 Ng4 22.Rd3 Ng6 23.Nf3 N6e5 24.Nxe5 Nxe5 25.Rd4 Kf8 26.Kf2 Ke7 27.h3 Nc4 28.Nd1 b5 29.e4 Nd6 30.Kf3 Rc2 31.a4 Nc4 32.axb5 axb5 33.b4 Ne5+ 34.Ke3 g5 35.Kf2 h5 36.Ke1 Nc6 37.Rd3 Nxb4 38.Rb3 Rc4 39.Kf2 Kd6 40.Rf3 Rc7 41.Rf6 Na2 42.Rh6 b4 43.Rxh5 Nc3 44.Nb2 Nxe4+ 45.Ke3 Rc2 46.Nd3 Rxe2+ 47.Kxe2 Nxg3+ 48.Kf3 Nxh5 49.Kg4 Nf4 50.Nxb4 f5+ 51.Kxg5 Nxh3+ 52.Kh4 Nf4 53.Kg5 Nh3+ 54.Kh4 Nf2 55.Kg5 Ne4+ 56.Kf4 Aronian's active knight Usually two connected pawns and knight win against a knight, if they can not be blockaded: Ke7? This allows Aronian to blockade the pawns safely. One way to win is 56...Nc3 57.Kg5 57.Nd3 Kd5 58.Kg5 Ne2 59.Nb4+ Ke4 60.Kf6 f4 61.Kxe6 f3-+ 57...Ne2 58.Nd3 Kd5 59.Kf6 f4 60.Kg5 f3 61.Kg4 Kd4 62.Nf2 Ng1 63.Kg3 e5 64.Kh2 Ne2 65.Ng4 e4 66.Kh3 e3 67.Nh2 Ke4 68.Nf1 Ng1+ 69.Kh2 e2 70.Ng3+ Ke5-+ 57.Ke5! Nf6 57...Ng5 58.Nc6+ Kf7 59.Nd8+ Ke7 60.Nxe6 Nxe6 61.Kxf5= 58.Nc6+! The sting of the scorpion. Kd7 59.Nb8+ Kc8 60.Nc6 Kd7 61.Nb8+ Kc7 62.Na6+ 62.Kxe6 f4 63.Na6+ Kb6 64.Nb4= transposes to the game. 62...Kb6 63.Kxe6 f4 64.Nb4! 64.Ke5? f3 65.Nb4 f2-+ 64...f3 65.Kxf6 f2 66.Nd5+! Thanks to this speed gaining check the knight is just in time. Kc5 67.Ne3 Kd4 68.Nf1 Kd3 69.Kf5 Ke2 70.Nh2 f1N 71.Nxf1 ½–½
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Artemiev,V2704Aronian,L2782½–½2021A13Chessable Masters KO2.1
Aronian,L2782Artemiev,V27040–12021B13Chessable Masters KO2.2
Artemiev,V2704Aronian,L27821–02021D78Chessable Masters KO2.3

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.

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