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Source: abs-cbnnews.com

-- Defending champion super Grandmaster (GM) Gata Kamsky admitted that he was outsmarted by 16-year-old Filipino GM Wesley So in Round 3 of the World Chess Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

“My opponent was better prepared and I was always choosing the wrong openings. In the first game I was playing recklessly and got the problematic position,” Kamsky said in an interview on the World Chess Cup website.

The super GM from the United States said of So: “I was thinking that [I] could manage to win the fellow on class. But he turned out to be very serious chess player.”

Kamsky also stressed that he did not underestimate his teenage foe. “No, it is not the case. So was playing better and he deserved the victory.”

Before denying Kamsky a chance to defend his title, So defeated Super GM Vassily Ivanchuk in Round 2. He will play against the winner of the match between Russian GM Vladimir Malakhov and Ukrainian GM Pavel Eljanov in the next round.

So said in an earlier interview the reason why he was able to defeat the big names in chess: “I understand that they are people who can also make mistakes.”

He then talked about his World Chess Cup strategy: “Generally speaking, I am okay if the classical games were drawn. Here the tie break goes. To my mind I play tie breaks better than classical games. But my opponents did not give me any chance to come to the tie breaks.”

Aggressive style

So went on to say that he is dead serious about his sport. “I realize that you should do your best in the classical games of each round. If you win one game, you are almost there. Besides, I spend a lot of time for preparations to every single opponent.”

The chess prodigy revealed that he trains for 5 to 6 hours a day and watches the previous games of his opponents.

He said he would like to play “a solid game with a solid opening” that is why he is playing aggressively so far.

“I think my style is close to Vishy Anand. Of course we have different level,” he stated.

So, who currently has an ELO rating of 2640, dreams of reaching the “magical point [of] 2700.”

Lack of funds

So has stunned the chess world with his recent victories over Kamsky and Ivanchuk. He has been making progress in his career even without a personal coach.

“I will need it [a personal coach] soon. I would train chess with Sanan Syugirov with pleasure for instance. He is my age. The only problem he does not speak English,” he said.

“Anyway I feel like having an assistant now. Another problem is that chess in not that famous in the Philippines. We don't get any financial support from the Government,” he added.

“The government does not give money for tournaments, coaches, nothing,” according to So. “Our National Federation pays our tickets. That's it. You realize at one moment that to reach some professional level you need private sponsors. I would be happy with some $20,000 to $30,000 a year.”