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Wesley So vs Arkadij Naiditsch
Dortmund Sparkassen (2015), Dortmund GER, rd 3, Jun-30
Queen's Gambit Declined: Barmen Variation (D37)  ·  0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 3 OF 3 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Jul-01-15  cornflake: <Imran Iskandar: 21. Ra1? was a very weird move to say the least. I mean, why would So 'undevelop' his rook? He probably had his reasons but it just was a nonsensical move to play in my opinion.>

I would guess the reason is that black was threatening 21...RxRc1 22. Rxc1 (or Bxc1) Qe1+ and black forces checkmate. Note also that 21.Rxc7 doesn't help either because of 21...Qe1+ leading to white getting check mated. So what else is white going to do with the rook on c1? He can't leave it there and he can't exchange it off so he has to move it to an admittedly horrible square (a1).

That being said I think the real problem with white's game is that his piece set up after 14.Bf5 Rc8 looks very awkward looking. I really don't like the move 15.dxc5?! trying to open the a1-h8 diagonal for the bishop. I think it might have been better to maintain the central tension instead of allowing blacks hanging pawns on c5 and d5 the freedom to advance.

Jul-01-15  bien pensant: That's him. He makes weird moves even in his personal life. So he gets punished. But he never learns.
Jul-01-15  Nonnus: I bet Arkadij dreaded losing to Wesley So very much because he was absolutely repelled by the idea of Lotis Key kissing him.after the game.
Jul-01-15  Talimuzakh: Whhuuuppp, lasog-lasog si Wesley, Nai-Ditch pala siya ni Arcadio.
Jul-01-15  whiteshark: Spanish IM David Martinez Martin takes us through the game: http://chess24.com/en/read/news/dor...
Jul-01-15  Pulo y Gata: As <cro777> pointed out, 21.g3 suggests itself, but maybe So trusted his opponent to falter somehow. Tough luck, this Nisi is a dangerous opponent to anyone.

I thought white played the opening in auto-pilot and the set-up actually worked in some of his games in Slav and QGD in the past. (For example: W So vs Shirov, 2011, W So vs Baburin, 2015 -- this one has similar opening until Naiditsch's 11...a6.) And Kramnik is another elite player who's fond of such formation with b3-Bb2.

Jul-01-15  Pyke: https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/...
Jul-01-15  Pulo y Gata: That Wesley So cartoon looks like a younger Anand.
Jul-01-15  john barleycorn: <Pulo y Gata: That Wesley So cartoon looks like a younger Anand.>

You tell it to Anand.

Jul-01-15  lainulo: Wesley's loss record from 2012 to 2015:

<2012>- 2 losses

1. W So vs M Vachier-Lagrave 0-1 53 2012 SPICE Cup D81 Grunfeld, Russian Variation

2 . Naiditsch vs W So 1-0 54 2012 French Team Championship C42 Petrov Defense

<2013>- 1 loss

1. Tomashevsky vs W So 1-0 51 2013 World Cup D97 Grunfeld, Russian

<2014>- 3 losses

1. W So vs K Akshayraj 0-1 23 2014 College Final Four D94 Grunfeld

2. Aronian vs W So 1-0 36 2014 Tata Steel A15 English

3. L Dominguez vs W So 1-0 21 2014 Tata Steel C42 Petrov Defense

<2015>- 10 losses and counting...and were halfthru the year...

1. W So vs S Fedorchuk 0-1 31 2015 French Team Championship A27 English, Three Knights System

2. W So vs S Sevian 0-1 41 2015 US Championships D45 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav

3. W So vs Naiditsch 0-1 36 2015 Dortmund D37 Queen's Gambit Declined

4. Caruana vs W So 1-0 51 2015 Gashimov Memorial E21 Nimzo-Indian, Three Knights

5. Anand vs W So 1-0 45 2015 Gashimov Memorial C78 Ruy Lopez

6. W So vs Akobian 0-1 6 2015 US Championships D32 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch

7. A Giri vs W So 1-0 111 2015 Tata Steel A13 English

8. C Holt vs W So 1-0 35 2015 US Championships D97 Grunfeld, Russian

9. Nisipeanu vs W So 1-0 28 2015 Dortmund B23 Sicilian, Closed

10. Robson vs W So 1-0 42 2015 US Championships C67 Ruy Lopez

This year, Wesley's performance drops abruptly for the worst compared to his virtuoso performance in previous years. What could possibly explain this phenomenon?

The losses against Sevian, Holt, Nisipeanu, Robson and Naiditzh were so horrible, Wesley would commit blunder after another...I've never seen him play like this before.

I would like to solicit the help of Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) to investigate the cause of this horrific collapse in form .

They need to gather finger prints and forensic evidence to find the perpetrator of this act of vandalism.... Who can the culprit be?

Jul-01-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  keypusher: < cornflake: <Imran Iskandar: 21. Ra1? was a very weird move to say the least. I mean, why would So 'undevelop' his rook? He probably had his reasons but it just was a nonsensical move to play in my opinion.>

I would guess the reason is that black was threatening 21...RxRc1 22. Rxc1 (or Bxc1) Qe1+ and black forces checkmate. Note also that 21.Rxc7 doesn't help either because of 21...Qe1+ leading to white getting check mated. So what else is white going to do with the rook on c1? He can't leave it there and he can't exchange it off so he has to move it to an admittedly horrible square (a1).>

He could play 21.g3. See the kibitz from <cro777> on the first page. How could 21.g3 possibly be worse than 21.Ra1?

To be fair to So, Shredder thinks it is still more or less even after 21.Ra1. 24.Bxd4, on the other hand, is clearly losing, after which Naiditsch missed the immediate ...Nf4.

Jul-01-15  diceman: <JohnDMaster: Everybody keeps making fun of the rook move Wesley made to A1 but Kasparov did the exact same thing in his game against Short>

So did Fischer, but it looks much more natural.
(at least when you're Fischer)

Fischer vs O Gadia, 1960

...for the record, Karpov's rook was attacked.

Jul-01-15  Pulo y Gata: Fischer was preparing the a4 break with his Ra1. Wesley's Ra1 in this game seems unnatural because he cedes the fight for the c-file voluntarily.
Jul-01-15  Pulo y Gata: <Jul-01-15 JohnDMaster: Everybody keeps making fun of the rook move Wesley made to A1 but Kasparov did the exact same thing in his game against Short Kasparov vs Short, 1986>

Ra1 was Kasparov's preparation in that line, as he revealed in one of his books. Also, it's quite a different Ra1 scenario in this particular case.

Jul-01-15  iking: <wordfunph: losing is bad business. no honey, no money..

<tbs> balik-lupa para bawas yabang, ayayayyy! napakasakit Kuya Eddie :(> .. mayabang pala si Wesley para sayo sir <word>? .. ehem

Jul-01-15  Junbalansag: I wonder why So resigned here. He could have taken the horse 37. gxf4 and thereafter 38. Rxg6 check! and eventually 39. Qxf3 and stops the imminent threat!
Jul-01-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: <Junbalansag: I wonder why So resigned here. He could have taken the horse 37. gxf4....>

The point is that 37.gxf4 is met by 37....Rxf2, mating.

Jul-02-15  theBlacksmith: <Pyke: https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/... Something wrong.. Lotis Key is missing in the background..
Jul-02-15  epistle: By that time she was still kissing Caruana.
Jul-02-15  Ulhumbrus: The hanging pawns turned out this time to be a weapon instead of a target. This suggests the question why. 21 Ra1 seems a strange move, undeveloping the rook. Instead of this 21 g3 gains the flight square g2 before doing anything else.
Jul-03-15  DeltaHawk: <Nonnus> That was @#$%* hilarious.
Jul-03-15  pelicanpower: wesley has a magnus kind of attitude, worse today then magnificient tomorrow, i should say he should maintain consistency. overall though this kid is a wonderful caliber in a year more among the top 10 circles of tourneys. Kudos to Wes, great man.
Jul-03-15  Fiona Macleod: And you have to create a new handle just to post that advertisement? Why didn't you just use one of your old ones? Would it lack credibility?
Jul-03-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: Credibility from <Glenn> would have the charm of novelty.
Jul-06-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  PawnSac: <lainulo: They need to gather finger prints and forensic evidence to find the perpetrator of this act of vandalism.... Who can the culprit be?>

it was a clear case of suicide

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