Wesley So to lead Webster team in big-purse chess tournament
By Bert Eljera |INQUIRER.net US Bureau
4:26 am | Monday, September 8th, 2014
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Chess grandmaster Wesley So will lead a powerhouse Webster University chess team in the richest-ever chess tournament, October 9-13 at Planet Hollywood.
Called Millionaire Chess, the tournament offers a total prize pot of $1 million, with the champion of the Open division receiving $100,000.
Other Filipino chess players from NorCal House of Chess of Fremont, California, are also participating in the tournament, which now requires a hefty $1,500 registration fee.
“They have to learn how to win in all types of events: RR invitational, team, big open Swiss, etc.,” said Paul Truong, a Webster University coach, who has guided the team to a NCAA championship together with his wife Susan Polgar.
“When so much money (is) on the line, some players do ‘chicken out’ or ‘choke’. This is a learning experience for them if they want to get better. Susan and I will be there to help them,” Truong said.
With So on the Webster team are students Le Quang Liem, Ray Robson and Ashwin Jayaram. Robson and Liem are grandmasters while Jayaram is an international master.
The tournament offers prizes for competitions in various categories base on the players’ EL0 ratings.
For the Open, the first prize is $100,000 with the second place getting $50,000; third place $25,000; fourth, $14,000; fifth, $8,000; sixth, $4,000; seventh to 20th, $2,000 each and 21st to 50th, $1,000.
Some 500 players from 39 countries, including 29 grandmasters, are expected in the tournament conceived by Maurice Ashley, the first African-American grandmaster, and businesswoman Amy Lee.
“Chess is a very exciting game, it’s been around for 1,500 years for a reason,” Ashley said in a recent interview with a Canadian radio station.
Nakamura will go 9-0.
YES! Nakamura will go 9-0, ONLY that he is the 0 & all his 9 opponents won against him LOL
Oh no not again. Nakamura is playing in this tournament.??? When is this guy going to learn that he does’nt have the mojo anymore to compete with these future Super GMs. Well, the color of money seems blinded Naka again.
In our country the word NAKA is a prefix to the word MURA which means Cheap. So the meaning of the name Nakamura is VERY CHEAP… Translate his name it will be GM Very Cheap 🙂