Wesley So rules top-class rapid-chess tournament in Belgium | ABS-CBN
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Wesley So rules top-class rapid-chess tournament in Belgium
Wesley So rules top-class rapid-chess tournament in Belgium
Roy Luarca
Published Jun 15, 2018 09:38 PM PHT
It took Wesley So less than a week to prove that he’s back in top form.
It took Wesley So less than a week to prove that he’s back in top form.
Shrugging off a final-round collapse in the Altibox Norway Chess tournament, So wreaked havoc in the YNM Leuven Rapid & Blitz competition in Belgium.
Shrugging off a final-round collapse in the Altibox Norway Chess tournament, So wreaked havoc in the YNM Leuven Rapid & Blitz competition in Belgium.
Propelled by back-to-back wins over world No. 2 Fabiano Caruana, who beat him in Norway, and No.3 Shakriyar Mamedyarov, So was never challenged and finished with a runaway total of 7.0 points in nine rounds of rapid play (25 minutes with a 10-second delay).
Propelled by back-to-back wins over world No. 2 Fabiano Caruana, who beat him in Norway, and No.3 Shakriyar Mamedyarov, So was never challenged and finished with a runaway total of 7.0 points in nine rounds of rapid play (25 minutes with a 10-second delay).
The Cavite-born So, now playing for the US Chess Federation, also claimed wins over Anish Giri in the fourth round, Alexander Grischuk in the fifth and Hiraku Nakamura in the seventh.
The Cavite-born So, now playing for the US Chess Federation, also claimed wins over Anish Giri in the fourth round, Alexander Grischuk in the fifth and Hiraku Nakamura in the seventh.
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So split the point with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France in the third round, Levon Aronian of Armenia in the sixth, Sergey Karjakin of Russia in the eighth and former world champion Viswanathan Anand of India.
So split the point with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France in the third round, Levon Aronian of Armenia in the sixth, Sergey Karjakin of Russia in the eighth and former world champion Viswanathan Anand of India.
So, 24, who settled for joint fourth in Norway rather than a share of first place, wound up 1.5 points clear of Aronian and Vachier-Lagrave.
So, 24, who settled for joint fourth in Norway rather than a share of first place, wound up 1.5 points clear of Aronian and Vachier-Lagrave.
Also slated are 18 rounds of blitz play (3 minutes plus 2 seconds).
Also slated are 18 rounds of blitz play (3 minutes plus 2 seconds).
Among the world’s elite players, only Norwegian world champion Magnus Carlsen, who was stunned by So at Altibox, and No. 4 Ding Liren of China were missing from the tournament serving as the first stop of the 2018 Grand Chess Tour.
Among the world’s elite players, only Norwegian world champion Magnus Carlsen, who was stunned by So at Altibox, and No. 4 Ding Liren of China were missing from the tournament serving as the first stop of the 2018 Grand Chess Tour.
The Grand Chess Tour is a tournament hosted by several countries and participated in by the world’s top players. Carlsen emerged overall champion in the 2015 and 2017 editions, while So topped the GCT in 2016.
The Grand Chess Tour is a tournament hosted by several countries and participated in by the world’s top players. Carlsen emerged overall champion in the 2015 and 2017 editions, while So topped the GCT in 2016.
Next up for So is the Paris GCT set June 20 to 24.
Next up for So is the Paris GCT set June 20 to 24.
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