Wesley So’s crushing victory against David Howell played a few days before his 14th birthday.
Wesley So vs David Howell, Four Knights Game, Scotch Variation, Accepted (C47)
World Junior Championship, 2007, Round 5, Yerevan, Armenia
This game is a perfect example of how strong Wesley So was at a very early age. It was played when he was 13 years old and rated just above 2500. His performance at the World Junior Championship earned him his second GM norm, and he got his last and became a grandmaster at the 3rd Prospero Pichay Cup International Open in the Philippines later in the year.
His opponent was David Howell, now one of the best British players. He was also rated over 2500 in 2007 and he was a very strong player as well. Howell was awarded the GM title just a few months before this event at the age of 16.
This game was a theoretical Scotch Variation of the Four Knights. Wesley accepted a somewhat inferior opening, but managed to get David into an unfamiliar position very early on. They were still in theory when Howell went badly wrong and missed a beautiful tactical possibility for Wesley. He allowed it and what came afterwards was Howell trying to survive and Wesley So putting on relentless pressure until an inevitable resignation.
Game moves:
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 6. Nxc6
bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8. exd5 cxd5 9. O-O O-O 10. Bg5 c6 11. Qf3 Be7
12. Rfe1 Re8 13. h3 h6 14. Bf4 Nh7 15. Bxh6 Ng5 16. Bxg5 Bxg5
17. Rxe8+ Qxe8 18. Nxd5 Bd8 19. Ne3 Rb8 20. b3 Qe5 21. Rd1 Bc7
22. Bc4 Be6 23. Bxe6 Qxe6 24. Qf5 Qe8 25. Rd4 g6 26. Qe4 Qf8
27. Qxc6 Bb6 28. Rd3 Rc8 29. Qf3 Bxe3 30. Qxe3 Rxc2 31. Qxa7
Qe8 32. Qe3 Qc8 33. Qe7 Qf5 34. Rd8+ Kg7 35. Qf8+ Kf6 36. Qd6+
Kg5 37. h4+ 1-0