So ranked seventh in world junior chess

MANILA, Philippines - Grandmaster Wesley So continued his steady climb to the top of junior chess world, moving up to No. 7 in the FIDE quarterly ratings released yesterday.

So, who just firmed up his claim as the country’s top player by beating the cream of the crop with an emphatic victory in the recent Battle of the GMs in Zamboanga del Norte, now totes a rating of 2641, the highest-ever achieved by a Filipino chess player.

He ranks behind GMs Magnus Carlsen (2770) of Norway, Sergey Karjakin (2721) of Ukraine, Wang Hao (2696) of China, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2684) of France, Fabiano Caruana (2649) of Italy and Li Chao (ELO 2643) of China.

The 15-year-old high school student of St. Francis (Bacoor) is now ranked 89th in the world in a tie with GMs Georg Meier of Germany and Ilia Smirin of Israel.

So is also currently ranked No. 11 in Asia and No. 1 in the under-16 category.

So’s previous high was 2531 in the October 2007 rating by FIDE. He slipped to 2526 in the January 2009 rating but moved up anew following his successful campaign in the Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Nteherlands and the Aeroflot Open in Moscow, Russia.

So’s remarkable climb in the ratings chart started in January 2005 with a 2165. He improved to 2216 in January 2006, then 2451 in January 2007 and 2526 in January 2008.

“There’s no way to go but up for Wesley,” said National Chess Federation of the Philippines NCFP) president Butch Pichay. “With the kind of exposure he’s getting, he will only get better.”

GM Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria emerged as the world’s top-ranked player with a 2812 rating.

GM Viswanathan Anand of India is second with a 2783, followed by Carlsen with 2770, GM Vladimir Kramnik of Russia with 2759, GM Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan with 2756, GM Levon Aronian of Armenia with 2754, GM Dmity Jakovenko of Russia with 2753, GM Alexander Morozevich of Russia with 2751 and Alexander Grischuk of Russia with 2748.

Back home, GM Eugene Torre remained in second place with a 2561.

The 57-year-old Torre, who topped the President Arroyo Cup late last year, is enjoying his highest rating in more than 10 years. He is listed No. 349 among active players in the world.

Dresden Olympiad veteran GM John Paul Gomez is third with 2538, followed by GM Mark Paragua (2529) and GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. (2518), IM Darwin Laylo (2509) and GM Joseph Sanchez (2483).

In the women’s division, Catherine Perena is the highest-placed player with 2184, followed by Cheradee Chardine Camacho with 2166 and Shercila Cua with 2155.