Published April 25, 2021, 2:29 PM
Wesley So
Grandmaster Wesley So got off to a rough start after absorbing three defeats in his first five games in the New In Chess Classic of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Sunday, April 25.
So yielded to Iran-born Alireza Firouzja, Poland’s Jan-Krzysztof Duda and England’s Gawain Jones but cushioned the impact of his free fall with wins over rising Indian star Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Azerbaijan’s Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.
The painful start put the Fischer Random king and two-time United States champion in a four-way logjam at 11th place with two points, putting him in danger of missing the playoff round for the first time after five legs of this tour.
Published March 17, 2021, 12:38 PM
Grandmaster Wesley So (Photo from FIDE)
Grandmaster Wesley So overpowered rising star Alireza Firouzja, 2.5-0.5, to seize the first of their two-set quarterfinal showdown in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Magnus Invitational Wednesday, March 17.
The 27-year-old So needed just three of their four-game first-set duel to bring down the 17-year-old Firouzja, an Iran-born player representing FIDE, after winning the first two in smashing fashion and drawing the third.
The World Fischer-Random king and two-time United States titlist would just need to draw the final four-game set to advance to the semifinals of this leg staking a total cash pot US$220,000.