Photos by Alina L'Ami
It was by all measures a brilliant game. Even the engines could see what was coming, and in spite of Black being up a pawn on the board, they unflinchingly declared White as ‘up a pawn’. Note that their main line did not show a sudden material reversal anytime soon, so it was another example of how advanced they are.

Wesley So has been on fire and is now rated 2817 on the Live Ratings list (as of this writing)

His surrogate mother and permanent companion, Lotis, has been a stabilizing force in his life
After the game, Wesley So joined GM Robin Van Kampen and shared detailed analysis of the game, and notably the opening. Both he and his opponent had spent a huge amount of time, and on move six So had spent a good 14 minutes. It was hardly the only time too, and equally large amounts of time were consumed by Harikrishna, who was on the receiving end of this masterpiece.
Here too, So studied the position for 13 minutes, and commented that he felt a critical move was the possible 7…e5
Wesley was unsure about its consequences, and commented that if Harikrishna, himself no.12 in the world, had chosen to avoid it, he had probably not felt comfortable or happy with it. As a matter of fact, the databases do have one master level game from 2011 featuring it played by the unlikely names, Fischdick and Schlick (Black won). I would be wont to make better ones up…
The curious thing in all this was that both players were following to the move a brilliant game by Vladimir Kramnik against Ian Nepomniachtchi played in 2015 in Dortmund. They followed it, not for five or ten moves, but a full 15. In fact, any doubts they did not know could be seen from the time spent after 17 moves: Wesley So had spent one hour and 21 minutes, while Pentala Harikrishna had used up one hour and 31 minutes. Astonishing.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but about when it is unintentional? Above is an image of the game that was its spiritual preecessor.
Vladimir Kramnik was actually watching the game live as it unfolded, time spent and all, and was quite baffled. Even if Wesley So had been deliberately luring Harikrishna to his death on the board, remembering it all, it hardly seems possible he would spend 81 minutes of his clock time, most of it very early, just to camouflage it. So what did the former World Champion think of all this?
He had a few wry comments, understandably. A player who has epitomized the standard bearer of opening preparation, out-thinking even his own great predecessor for the title, had to find this all just short of incomprehensible. Wesley So admitted he recognized the position somewhat, though failed to identify exactly where and when. There is no reason to doubt his sincerity, though Kramnik did point out, “Well it is logical that So was slightly more aware of the game since it was played two meters away from his”.

As to Pentala Harikrishna, who followed the Pied Piper to his demise, Kramnik offered the following words of wisdom: “My approach is quite old fashioned, and I prefer to avoid, especially with black, playing openings I know nothing about...”
Here is the full game, with analysis from Wesley So’s post-game conference:
So on So

Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.c4 c5 5.Nc3 d5 6.d4 cxd4 7.Nxd4 dxc4 7...e5 8.Qa4+ Nbd7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Rd1 Nb6 11.Qa3 Qd6 12.Qxd6 exd6 13.a4 a6 13...Be6 14.Nxe6 fxe6 15.Rxd6 Rad8 16.Rxe6 Kf7 17.Re3 Nbd5 18.Nxd5 Nxd5 19.Rf3+ Ke8 20.Rxf8+ Kxf8 14.Bf4 d5 14...Ne8 15.Rac1 a5 16.Ndb5 Bd7 17.Bxd6 Nxd6 18.Rxd6 Bc6 19.Bxc6 bxc6 20.Rxc6 Rab8 21.Rc5 Rfd8 22.Na7 Rd2 23.Rb5 Nd7 24.Rxb8+ Nxb8 25.Ncb5 Nd7 26.Rxc4 Bxb2 27.Kf1 Nb6 28.Re4 f5 29.Re8+ Kf7 30.Rb8 Nxa4 31.Nc6 Nc3 32.Nxa5 Rd1+ 33.Kg2 Nxe2 34.Nc4 Ba1 35.Nbd6+ Kg7 36.Rb7+ Kg8 15.a5 Nbd7 16.Rac1 16.Nxd5 Nxd5 17.Bxd5 Ne5 18.Bxe5 Bxe5 19.Bxc4 Bg4 16...Rd8 17.Bc7 Re8 18.Bd6 18.Nxd5 Nxd5 19.Bxd5 Ne5 18...Ne5 19.Bxd5! Nxd5 19...Rd8 20.Bxb7 Bxb7 21.Bxe5 20.Nxd5 Bg4! 21.Rd2 21.Nc7 Nd3! 22.exd3 22.Rxc4? Nxb2 23.Nxe8 Rxe8 21.f3? Nd3! 21...Red8 21...c3?! 22.Rxc3 Nc6 22...Red8 23.Nb6 Rxd6 24.Nxa8 Nc6 25.e3 23.Nxc6 Bxc3 24.bxc3 bxc6 25.Nf6+ Kg7 26.Nxe8+ Rxe8 22.Nb6 Rxd6 22...Ra7 23.Nxa8 Nc6 24.Nf3 Rxd2 25.Nxd2 Bxb2 26.Rxc4 Bxe2 27.Re4 Bd3 28.Re3 Nb4? 28...Bf5 29.Rb3 Bf6 30.Rxb7 Nxa5 31.Rb6 Bc3 32.Nb3 Nxb3 33.Rxb3 Bf6 34.Rb6 Kg7 35.Rxa6 29.Nb6 Bd4 29...Bc1 30.Nbc4 30.Re7 Nc6 31.Rxb7 Nxa5 32.Rd7 Nc6 33.Nb3 Bf5 33...Bxb6 34.Rxd3 34.Rxd4 Nxd4 35.Nxd4 Bd3 36.Kg2 Kf8 37.Kf3 Ke7 38.Ke3 Bf1 39.Nf3 Kd6 40.Kd4 f6 41.Nd2 Be2 42.Nd5 f5 43.Nc3 Bh5 44.Nc4+ Ke6 45.f4 Kd7 46.Kc5 h6 47.Nd5 Ke6 48.Nc7+ 1–0
- 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.
So,W | 2808 | Harikrishna,P | 2766 | 1–0 | 2017 | A34 | 79th Tata Steel Chess 2017-Masters | 5 |
Please, wait...