Daily PGN - August 31, 2016

L Ding vs. Wesley So
(Unknown, 2231) 1 - 0 (USA, 2771)
[This is the ELO rating at the time the game was played]
Event: WYb12, 2004.11.06, Reti, Zukertort (A04)

Black resigned • White is victorious

Opening
The opening played in this game is Reti, Zukertort (ECO: A04), established by the moves 1.Nf3. The A04 is the second most frequently played parent class opening by Wesley So, used in more than 11% of his games.

Endgame
This game has not reached endgame (the material valuation at the last move is 63 with 23 pieces left on the board).

Daily PGN - August 30, 2016

Wesley So vs. Fabiano Caruana
(USA, 2771) 1 - 0 (USA, 2196)
[This is the current (actual) ELO rating. Rating at the time the game was played is unknown]
Event: World Youth Chess Championship U12, 2004.11.06, Larsen-Santasiere (McDonnell Attack) Variation, Sicilian (B21)

Black resigned • White is victorious

Opening
The opening played in this game is Larsen-Santasiere (McDonnell Attack) Variation, Sicilian (ECO: B21), established by the moves 1.e4 c5 2.f4. This is the most frequently played parent class opening by Wesley So, used in more than 26% of his games. The opening B21 was very rarely played by Fabiano Caruana with black.

Endgame
This game has not reached endgame (the material valuation at the last move is 37 with 19 pieces left on the board).

Daily PGN - August 29, 2016

Rinat Jumabayev vs. Wesley So
(Kazakhstan, 2525) 0 - 1 (USA, 2652)
[This is the ELO rating at the time the game was played]
Event: Olympiad Istanbul_M, 2012.08.30, Capablanca Variation, Grunfeld (D83)

Opening
The opening played in this game is Capablanca Variation, Grunfeld (ECO: D83), established by the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.e3 O-O 6.Rc1. This opening was very rarely played by Rinat Jumabayev. Also Wesley So played the D83 opening very rarely.

Endgame
There were a total of 12 moves in the endgame which computer have analysed using endgame tablebases. The two players did not make a decisive mistake in any of those moves (decisive mistakes are such that would lose a winning/drawing game, or draw a winning one).

Daily PGN - August 28, 2016

Wesley So vs. Darwin Laylo
(USA, 2658) 1/2 - 1/2 (Philippines, 2528)
[This is the ELO rating at the time the game was played]
Event: Philippine Championship, 2011.07.23, Anglo-Slav, English, (A11)

Opening
The opening played in this game is Anglo-Slav, English, (ECO: A11), established by the moves 1.c4 c6. This opening was very rarely played by Wesley So. The A11 is the sixth most frequently played parent class opening by Darwin Laylo, used in more than 9% of his games.

Endgame
This game has reached endgame with 14 pieces left.

Daily PGN - August 27, 2016

Wesley So vs. Mark Paragua
(USA, 2658) 1/2 - 1/2 (Philippines, 2545)
[This is the ELO rating at the time the game was played]
Event: Philippine Championship, 2011.07.22, Anglo-Slav, English, (A11)

Opening
The opening played in this game is Anglo-Slav, English, (ECO: A11), established by the moves 1.c4 c6. This opening was very rarely played by Wesley So. The A11 is the sixth most frequently played parent class opening by Mark Paragua, used in more than 7% of his games.

Endgame
This game has not reached endgame (the material valuation at the last move is 48 with 22 pieces left on the board).

Daily PGN - August 26, 2016

Tirto vs. Wesley So
(Indonesia, 2413) 1/2 - 1/2 (USA, 2526)
[This is the ELO rating at the time the game was played]
Event: 1nd AMCC Leg - GM Tournament A, 2008.01.14, Rossolimo (Nezmetdinov) Variation, Sicilian (B30)

Opening
The opening played in this game is Rossolimo (Nezmetdinov) Variation, Sicilian (ECO: B30), established by the moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5. This is the most frequently played parent class opening by Tirto, used in more than 32% of his games. The B30 is also the most frequently played parent class opening by Wesley So, used in more than 32% of his games.

Endgame
This game has not reached endgame (the material valuation at the last move is 72 with 30 pieces left on the board).

Daily PGN - August 25, 2015

Wesley So vs. Cecep Kosasih
(USA, 2408) 1/2 - 1/2 (Indonesia, 2526)
[This is the ELO rating at the time the game was played]
Event: 1nd AMCC Leg - GM Tournament A, 2008.01.09, Lasker-Pelikan Variation, Sicilian (B33)

Opening
The opening played in this game is Lasker-Pelikan Variation, Sicilian (ECO: B33), established by the moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5. This is the most frequently played parent class opening by Wesley So, used in more than 26% of his games. The B33 opening was very rarely played by Cecep Kosasih with black, however it is the second most frequently played parent class opening when he was white (used in more than 19% of his games).

Endgame
This game has reached endgame with 8 pieces left.

Daily PGN - August 24, 2016

Rogelio Jr Antonio vs. Wesley So
(Philippines, 2540) 1/2 - 1/2 (USA, 2531)
[This is the ELO rating at the time the game was played]
Event: 3rd Pichay Cup International Open, 2007.12.06, Mieses Variation, Center Counter (B01)

Opening
The opening played in this game is Mieses Variation, Center Counter (ECO: B01), established by the moves 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6. This opening was very rarely played by Rogelio Jr Antonio. Also Wesley So played the B01 opening very rarely.

Endgame
This game has not reached endgame (the material valuation at the last move is 58 with 24 pieces left on the board).

Daily PGN - August 23, 2016

Yangyi Yu vs. Wesley So
(China, 2736) 1 - 0 (USA, 2775)
[This is the ELO rating at the time the game was played]
Event: Qatar Masters Open, 2015.12.29, Three Knights Variation, Nimzo-Indian (E21)

Opening
The opening played in this game is Three Knights Variation, Nimzo-Indian (ECO: E21), established by the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3. This opening was very rarely played by Yangyi Yu with white, however it is the forth most frequently played parent class opening when he was black (used in more than 9% of his games). The E21 is the sixth most frequently played parent class opening by Wesley So, used in more than 6% of his games.

Endgame
This game has reached endgame with 8 pieces left.

Daily PGN - August 22, 2016

Wesley So vs. Utut Adianto
(USA, 2516) 1/2 - 1/2 (Indonesia, 2583)
[This is the ELO rating at the time the game was played]
Event: 6th ASIAN Individual Chess CHAM, 2007.09.24, Berlin Defense, Bishop (C24)

Opening
The opening played in this game is Berlin Defense, Bishop (ECO: C24), established by the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6. This is the fifth most frequently played parent class opening by Wesley So, used in more than 7% of his games. The opening C24 was very rarely played by Utut Adianto with black.

Endgame
This game has reached endgame with 12 pieces left.

Daily PGN - August 21, 2016

Ruiyuan Yu vs. Wesley So
(China, 2511) 1/2 - 1/2 (USA, 2653)
[This is the ELO rating at the time the game was played]
Event: Asian Continental, 2012.05.12, Sicilian (B53)

Opening
The opening played in this game is Sicilian (ECO: B53), established by the moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4. This is the most frequently played parent class opening by Ruiyuan Yu, used in more than 59% of his games. The opening B53 was very rarely played by Wesley So with black.

Endgame
This game has not reached endgame (the material valuation at the last move is 38 with 20 pieces left on the board).

Daily PGN - August 20, 2016

Awam Wahono vs. Wesley So
(Indonesia, 2379) 0 - 1 (USA, 2655)
[This is the ELO rating at the time the game was played]
Event: Indonesia Open, 2011.10.16, Two Knights Variation, Caro (B10)

Opening
The opening played in this game is Two Knights Variation, Caro (ECO: B10), established by the moves 1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nc3. This opening was very rarely played by Awam Wahono. Also Wesley So played the B10 opening very rarely.

Endgame
This game has not reached endgame (the material valuation at the last move is 34 with 16 pieces left on the board).

What is Portable Game Notation?

Portable Game Notation (PGN) is a plain text computer-processible format for recording chess games (both the moves and related data), supported by many chess programs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Game_Notation

Daily PGN - August 19, 2016

Alexander Ipatov vs. Wesley So
(Turkey, 2584) 1/2 - 1/2 (USA, 2710)
[This is the ELO rating at the time the game was played]
Event: FIDE World Cup, 2013.08.12, Exchange Variation, Grunfeld (D85)

Opening
The opening played in this game is Exchange Variation, Grunfeld (ECO: D85), established by the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5. This is the sixth most frequently played parent class opening by Alexander Ipatov, used in more than 5% of his games. The opening D85 was very rarely played by Wesley So with black.

Endgame
There were a total of 29 moves in the endgame which computer have analysed using endgame tablebases. The two players did not make a decisive mistake in any of those moves (decisive mistakes are such that would lose a winning/drawing game, or draw a winning one).

Daily PGN - August 18, 2016

Evgeny Tomashevsky vs. Wesley So
(Russia, 2706) 1 - 0 (USA, 2710)
[This is the ELO rating at the time the game was played]
Event: FIDE World Cup, 2013.08.14, Prins Variation, Grunfeld (D97)

Opening
The opening played in this game is Prins Variation, Grunfeld (ECO: D97), established by the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 O-O 7.e4 Na6. This opening was very rarely played by Evgeny Tomashevsky. Also Wesley So played the D97 opening very rarely.

Endgame
This game has not reached endgame (the material valuation at the last move is 30 with 14 pieces left on the board).

Chess For Dummies

From Chess For Dummies, 4th Edition by James Eade

Setting Up Your Chessboard

Setting up your chessboard is the first step in playing a game of chess. Take your time setting up the board, until you’re confident that you know where everything goes:

1. The rooks go on the corner squares.
2. Place the knights next to the rooks.
3. Put the bishops on the board next to the knights.
4. After the bishops come the queens. The queens always start on the square of the same shade — the white queen starts on a light square, and the black queen starts on a dark square.
5. Place the kings next to the queens, which is only fitting.
6. Add the pawns straight across the rank in front of the other pieces.
   

Naming Ranks and Files in Chess

The chessboard is divided into ranks (numbers) and files (letters). There are eight of each, and each is comprised of eight squares of equal size:

• Ranks are rows that go from side to side across the chessboard and are referred to by numbers. Each chessboard has eight ranks, which are numbered from the bottom of the board (where the white pieces start) on up.
• Files are columns that go up and down the chessboard, and each board has eight of them. Because numbers indicate ranks, letters indicate files, which are labeled from left to right.
• The naming conventions for ranks and files allows you to give an identifier to every square by using what chess people call the file-first method. For example, the lower right-hand square is called h1. This name is shorthand for h-file, first rank.
  

Knowing the Moves that Chess Pieces Can Make

Before you can play a game of chess, you need to know how to move the pieces (legally). A chess piece’s power is tied to its mobility. The more mobile a piece is, the more powerful it is:

• Pawns: Pawns can only move forward. On their first move, they can move one or two squares. Afterwards, they can move only one square at a time. They can capture an enemy piece by moving one square forward diagonally.
• Bishops: Bishops can move any number of squares diagonally.
• Knights: Knights can move only in an L-shape, one square up and two over, or two squares over and one down, or any such combination of one-two or two-one movements in any direction.
• Rooks: Rooks can move any number of squares, up and down and side to side.
• Queens: Queens can move any number of squares along ranks, files and diagonals.
• Kings: Kings can move one square at a time in any direction.
  

Understanding Check, Checkmate, and Stalemate in Chess

In chess, check is an attack on an enemy king; this attack can’t be ignored. If the check can’t be neutralized, it is checkmate and the game is over. Stalemate occurs when one player has no legal moves, but his king isn’t in check. Here are a few additional details on check, checkmate, and stalemate in chess:

• Check: An attack on a king by either an opposing piece or an opposing pawn is called check. When in check, a player must do one of the following:
  • Move the king so that it’s no longer under attack.
  • Block the attack by interposing a piece between the king and the attacker.
  • Capture the attacking piece.
• Checkmate: When a king is in check and can’t perform any of the preceding moves, it has been checkmated. If your king is checkmated, you lose the game. The term checkmate is commonly shortened to simply mate.
• Stalemate: Stalemate is the relatively rare situation when a player whose king isn’t in check has no legal move to make. Stalemate is considered a draw. Neither player wins, but the game is over.