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Wesley So

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In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Barbasa and the surname or paternal family name is So.
Wesley So
So in 2015
Full nameWesley Barbasa So
CountryPhilippines (until November 2015)
United States (since November 2015)
Born (1993-10-09) October 9, 1993 (age 31)
Bacoor, Cavite, Philippines
TitleGrandmaster (2008)
FIDE rating2747 (November 2024)
Peak rating2822 (March 2017)
RankingNo. 11 (November 2024)
Peak rankingNo. 2 (March 2017)

Wesley Barbasa So (born October 9, 1993) is a Filipino-Chinese American chess grandmaster. He is the current U.S. Chess Champion. He represented the Philippines until transferring to the United States in 2015.

A former chess prodigy, So became the youngest player to pass 2600 Elo rating in October 2008, breaking the record previously held by Magnus Carlsen.[1] This record has since been broken by John M. Burke.[2] In early 2013, So passed 2700 and in January 2017 So became the 11th player to pass 2800 Elo.

So won the 2017 Tata Steel Masters, the 2016 Grand Chess Tour title after claiming victory in the Sinquefield Cup and London Chess Classic, and the 2015 Bilbao Chess Masters. He is also a three-time Philippines Chess Champion.

Early years

So was born in the Philippines in 1993 to parents William and Eleanor So. So attended the Jesus Good Shepherd School and went on to Saint Francis of Assisi College in Bacoor.[3]

He was nine years old when he began competing in junior tournaments. So took first place at the 2003 Philippine National Chess Championships in the U-10s section.[4] As a junior player, he also competed in various sections of World Youth Chess Championships, finishing 19th in the U-10s in 2003,[5] 13th in the U-12s in 2004 and fourth place in the U-12s in 2005.[6][7] He also took part in the ASEAN Open U-10s in 2004, securing individual golds in the standard and rapid sections along with team silver medals in the standard and rapid along with winning individual golds in the standard, rapid and blitz sections in the U-12s in 2005.

Rising to elite status

So made his tournament debut at the Nice International Open in August 2005, finishing in sixteenth place (from 159) with 4/7.[8] He also completed three International Master norms in the space of four months, becoming the youngest Filipino to achieve that status after scoring 5/9 at the Dubai Open, 5.5/9 at the San Marino Open and 6.5/11 at the Dato Arthur Tan Malaysia Open. During this period, So made his first Olympiad appearance on second reserve board at the 37th Chess Olympiad held in Turin in 2006.

So's form continued with 5.5/9 at the Calvia Open, his first GM-norm with 7/9 at the Bad Wiessee Open, tying for sixth with 4/8 at the GMA Presidents Cup in Parañaque and ended 2006 by scoring 6/9 at the Singapore Masters. In January 2007, So qualified for the Chess World Cup 2007 via the Zonal tournament held in Phu Quoc, Vietnam, scoring 5.5/9. Between January 2006 and April 2007, So had increased his FIDE rating by 303 points to 2519.

In May 2007, he went on to become National Junior Chess Champion. So got his second GM norm by scoring 7.5/13 at the 2007 World Junior Chess Championship in Yerevan. He achieved his third and final Grandmaster norm in December 8, 2007 at the Pichay Cup International Open (Manila, Philippines), thus becoming the youngest Filipino grandmaster at the age of 14 and the seventh youngest to reach the title.

January 2008 saw So finish fourth with 7/11 at the ASEAN Chess Circuit event held in Tarakan, Indonesia. In April 2008 So shared first place at the Dubai Open, scoring 7/9.[9][10] He also finished in third place with 7/9 at a blitz tournament held during the rest day. So then defeated Susanto Megaranto 4-2 in a six-game match as part of the JAPFA Chess Festival held in Jakarta, won the "Battle of Grandmasters tournament" with 8½/11 (+6 =5 -0) in Manila, came tenth with 7.5/11 in the Philippines Open followed immediately with second place at the Subic Open with 6.5/9.

Wesley So at Dresden Olympiad 2008

In July 2008, So came second with 12.5/17 in a tournament to decide the team for the 2008 38th Chess Olympiad, followed by sharing eighth place at the World Juniors Championship held in Gaziantep, Turkey. He shared second with Zurab Azmaiparashvili scoring 6.5/9 at the Vietnam Open but finished well back at the Arroyo Cup in sixteenth place. During the previous 3-month rating period So completed 69 rated games.

After competing in the Asian Club Cup, So made his first appearance at a major chess tournament by winning the Corus Group C in January 2009, a point ahead of Anish Giri and Tiger Hillarp Persson with a score of 9.5/13,[11] earning a spot in Group B the next year. He scored 5/9 and shared 17th place at the strong Aeroflot Open held in Moscow.[12] He showed his strength against home opposition scoring 9/11 at the Dapitan City Battle of GMs, but found it difficult at the Asian Continental Championships in Subic scoring 6.5/11 and sharing 18th place. So won a seat in the 2009 Chess World Cup by finishing second at the Zonal Championship held in July 2009 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.[13] After competing in the Chinese Chess League, So shared fourth place at the SPICE Cup Group A with a solid 4.5/10.

At the age of 16, So became one of the stories of the 2009 Chess World Cup held in Khanty-Mansiysk after progressing to the fourth round before being knocked out by Vladimir Malakhov after rapid tiebreaks. He defeated Gadir Guseinov after rapid tiebreaks then defeated Vassily Ivanchuk and Gata Kamsky.[14] This was followed by sharing fourth place at the Corus Chess Group B in early 2010 with Erwin l'Ami scoring 7.5/13 and sharing seventh place with 5.5/9 at the Aeroflot Open.[15][16] Sharing second place with 6.5/9 at the Asian Continental Championships in April earned him a spot in the Chess World Cup 2011 and he secured a second Philippine Chess Championship.[17][18]

As So's playing strength and rating increased, so did the number of invites to high-level events. So initially led the strong Biel tournament before drifting back to share fifth place with 4.5/9.[19] Three weeks later, So held his own in the last NH "Experience vs Rising Stars" Match (played under Scheveningen match rules) scoring 4.5/10 for the "Rising Stars" team.[20] So took part in the 39th Chess Olympiad and placed fourth, scoring 5.5/10 at the 2010 SPICE Cup, before the Asian Games.

So at Tata Steel Chess 2011

So tied for fourth place at Tata Steel (formerly Corus) Group B but withdrew from the Aeroflot Open, held soon after, citing exhaustion from the previous event.[21] In July 2011 he won the Philippine Chess Championship for a third time.[22] So's rating hovered over the coming year with a solid performance at the strong AAI International Tournament in New Delhi among performances typical for his rating.

In August 2012, So emigrated to the United States. In September 2012, So found success in first place at the Quebec International, scoring 7.5/9, half a point ahead of Lazaro Bruzon and at the 40th Chess Olympiad drew against numerous top-level players including Levon Aronian, who described So as a "talented player from a country with a great chess culture".[23]

So came second in the Zonal 3.3 Championship in Tagaytay, Philippines earning a place in the Chess World Cup 2013 and shared first place with Pavel Eljanov and Bassem Amin at the Reykjavik Open.[24] In doing so he breached the 2700 Elo mark, considered to be the level of an elite player and placed him 50th in the World. So also won gold at the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia, the first such medal for the Philippines, after a play off match with Zaven Andriasian.[25] After defeating Alexander Ipatov in the first round of the Chess World Cup, he was knocked out by eventual semi-finalist Evgeny Tomashevsky.[26] In October 2013, So won the Unive Crown Group scoring 4.5/6.[27]

So tied for fourth with Fabiano Caruana and Lenier Dominguez at the 2014 Tata Steel Chess Tournament Group A scoring 6/11.[28][29] He also won the 49th Capablanca Memorial tournament, held in Havana, a point clear of Lazaro Bruzon,[30] soon after winning the ACP Golden Classic tournament in Bergamo, Italy with a score of 4.5/6, a point ahead of Baadur Jobava.[31] This string of tournaments propelled So to 12th in the FIDE World Rankings.

United States transfer

So's transfer to the United States Chess Federation was confirmed in the November 2014 rating list.[32][33] Soon after, he moved to Minnetonka, Minnesota to live with his adoptive parents, Lotis Key and her husband, Renato Kabigting.[34]

He won the Millionaire Chess Tournament held in Las Vegas in October 2014 scoring 8.5/13 and shared second place at the Tata Steel Masters in January 2015.[35] In June 2015, in the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Tournament, he came in second, behind the winner Fabiano Caruana.[36]

In November 2015, So won the 2015 Bilbao Chess Masters Final tournament.[37] He defeated Grandmaster Ding Liren in Round 1, drew the remaining 5 games, and won in the tiebreaks against Grandmaster Anish Giri.

So was awarded the Samford Fellowship in March 2016, enabling him to secure Vladimir Tukmakov as coach.[38]

In August 2016, So finished clear first at the 2016 Sinquefield Cup, ahead of former World Champions Viswanathan Anand and Veselin Topalov, 2014 winner Fabiano Caruana, and 2015 winner Levon Aronian. He won 2 games and drew 7 games.[39]

In December 2016, So also finished clear first at the 2016 London Chess Classic, ahead of former World Champions Viswanathan Anand, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov. He won 3 games and drew 6 games (+3-0=6).[40]

In winning the Sinquefield Cup, the London Chess Classic, and finishing second at the Your Next Move Leuven rapid and blitz tournament, he won the 2016 Grand Chess Tour. So's first appearance for the United States yielded individual gold medal for board 3 as well as team gold at the Chess Olympiad held in Baku.

In January 2017, So won the Tata Steel Masters, finishing ahead of World Champion Magnus Carlsen by a full point, with a score of 9/13,[41] to rise to World No. 3 in the next FIDE list.

Wesley So played for the Saint Louis Arch Bishops in the Professional Rapid Online Chess League competition, winning all four of his games two weeks in a row. In week six, he and his team beat the division leader San Diego Surfers, which at the time had the only perfect record in the league.[42]

So won the 2017 U.S. Chess Championship by defeating Alexander Onischuk in a rapid playoff tiebreak. He won 3 games and drew 8 (+3-0=8) in the classical portion of the tournament.[43]

So had an undefeated streak of 67 games starting in July 2016, which ended in April 2017 after losing to the Azerbaijani GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov who won the Shamkir Chess tournament.[44]

In June 2017, So scored 4.5/9 at Norway Chess.[45] So rebounded from seventh place at the Your Next Move Paris event with victory in the rapid portion of Your Next Move GCT (Leuven) with +5-0=4.[46][47] He finished the tournament in second place with a score of 22.5/36, 3 points behind winner Magnus Carlsen.[48]

In August 2017, So scored 3/9 at the Sinquefield Cup for tied last place.[49] In September, So progressed to the semi-finals of the World Cup and was knocked out by Ding Liren on tiebreaks.[50] Wesley So qualified for the 2018 Candidates Tournament as ratings qualifier in November 2017.[51]

Team results

So has competed in five Chess Olympiads, making his debut at 12 years old representing the Philippines at the Turin Olympiad in 2006. From the 2016 Olympiad, So has represented the United States:[52]

Event Board Individual result Team result
Olympiad, Turin 2006 Second Reserve 3/5 44th
World Youth U16 Olympiad, Singapore 2007 First 9.5/10 (Gold) Bronze
World Youth U16 Olympiad, Mersin 2008 First 9/10 (Gold) Bronze
Olympiad, Dresden 2008 Second 7/10 (11th) 46th
Olympiad, Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 First 6.5/10 (27th) 50th
Asian Games, Guangzhou 2010 First 5/8 Silver
Olympiad, Istanbul 2012 First 6.5/11 (16th) 21st
Olympiad, Baku 2016 Third 8.5/10 (Gold) Gold

Playing style

This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

As a young player, So's aggressive and tactical style of play caught the attention of a former Philippine chess champion, International Master Rodolfo Tan Cardoso. Cardoso said of So:

"The young lad...would sacrifice a queen or any other pieces in his arsenal to get a winning attack....He cannot afford decent training given by well known GM-coaches and has to rely on his pure talent...before competing."[53]

So–Prusikin, 2006
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
f8 black rook
g8 black king
d7 black knight
b6 black pawn
e6 black pawn
f6 black queen
g6 black pawn
a5 black pawn
d5 black pawn
g5 white knight
h5 black pawn
d4 black pawn
f4 white pawn
c3 white pawn
d3 white queen
e3 white knight
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
e1 white rook
f1 white rook
g1 white king
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Position after 18...cxd4 White launched a spectacular combination with 19.Nxe6!

So commented during an interview with Alina l'Ami in 2009:

"So far I play aggressively. I would like to play a solid game with a solid opening. This is what I want. I think my style is close to Vishy Anand. Of course we have different level."[54]

His playing style has evolved in recent years to become more precise and risk-free, relying on taking advantage of opponent's mistakes.

So has said that his favourite chess player is Magnus Carlsen.[55] He has also said that his favourite game was his win against Ni Hua in the 2008 Chess Olympiad, which was his first win against a 2700-rated opponent.[56]

During So's tournament victory at Bad Wiessee in 2006, he earned a creativity award in the Russian magazine e3e5 for the following game, where he won in spectacular fashion:[57]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bxe7 Qxe7 7. f4 a6 8. Nf3 b6 9. Qd2 c5 10. Nd1 O-O 11. c3 f6 12. Bd3 a5 13. O-O Ba6 14. exf6 Qxf6 15. Ng5 g6 16. Ne3 h5 17. Rae1 Bxd3 18. Qxd3 cxd4 (see diagram) 19. Nxe6 Qxe6 20. Nxd5 Qf7 21. Re7 Qf5 22. Qxd4 Nf6 23. Re5 Qd7 24. Qd3 Nxd5 25. Qxg6+ Qg7 26. Qe6+ Qf7 27. Qh6 Qf6 28. Rg5+ Kf7 29. Qh7+ Ke8 30. Rxd5 1-0

Personal life

So has been estranged with his biological family after they left for Canada and left him alone in Metro Manila. In the United States, he decided to live with Lotis Key, Bambi Kabigting, and their daughter whom he considers his adoptive family.[58]

He is a Christian. In an article for Christianity Today in August 2017, he stated that he reads the Bible every night and attends church every weekend.[59]

References

  1. ^ von Keitz, Michael (12 February 2013). "Carlsen's Conquests – at 22 he has broken all records". ChessBase News. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  2. ^ Silver, Albert (31 August 2015). "September 2015 Ratings: Burke youngest 2600 ever". ChessBase News. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  3. ^ Brilliant Wesley So tops tough Dubai Open INQUIRER.net Published 16 April 2008
  4. ^ Interview with Wesley So Online Chess Lessons Accessed 19 September
  5. ^ WYCC Boys U10s 2003 Chess-results Accessed 18 September 2014
  6. ^ WYCC Boys U12s 2004 Chess-results Accessed 18 September 2014
  7. ^ WYCC Boys U12s 2005 Chess-results Accessed 18 September 2014
  8. ^ "12 Open d'Ete de Nice - France". World Chess Federation. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  9. ^ Wesley So wins Dubai Open Chessbase Published 17 April 2008
  10. ^ World Youngest Grandmaster, Filipino Wesley So, 14, Wins Dubai Open FIDE published 6 April 2008
  11. ^ Wijk R13: Sergey Karjakin wins Wijk aan Zee 2009 Chessbase Accessed 21 September 2014
  12. ^ Aeroflot Chess: So bags top junior award GMA Network Published 26 February 2009
  13. ^ Filipinos Conquer Zonal 3.3 Championship Chessdom Published 30 July 2009
  14. ^ World Cup R4: Youngsters out, experience rules Chessbase Published 2 December 2009
  15. ^ "All-time Tournaments - Tata Steel Chess". www.tatasteelchess.com. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  16. ^ "The Week in Chess 795". theweekinchess.com. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  17. ^ "Asia Continental Chess Championships 2010 | Chessdom Chess". reports.chessdom.com. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  18. ^ "Wesley So Wins Philippines National Chess Championship | Chessdom Chess". reports.chessdom.com. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  19. ^ Biel: Three players share first, tiebreaks on Thursday Chessbase Published 29 July 2010
  20. ^ NH Chess Tournament 2010 The Week In Chess Published 22 August 2010
  21. ^ Pinoy grandmaster So withdraws from Moscow tilt GMA Network Published 14 February 2011
  22. ^ Wesley So Wins Philippines National Chess Championship Chessdom Published 27 July 2011
  23. ^ Interview with Levon Aronian (video) Chessdom Published 31 August 2012
  24. ^ "Reykjavik Open 2013 : Three for the gold". Chess News. 2013-03-01. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  25. ^ So bags first-ever PH gold in Universiade Inquirer Sports Published 16 July 2013
  26. ^ "World Cup 2.2: fifteen matches still undecided". Chess News. 2013-08-15. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  27. ^ Unive Crown Group and Open 2013 The Week In Chess Published 26 October 2013
  28. ^ Aronian Wins Tata Steel Chess 2014; Wesley So @ 6th place overall PhilBoxing.com (Jose Jereos Jr) Published 28 January 2014
  29. ^ Tata 11: Giri and Timman take silver Chessbase Published 26 January 2014
  30. ^ Wesley So with 2826 performance in Cuba ChessBase Published 20 May 2014
  31. ^ ACP Golden Classic: Wesley So is the winner Chessbase Published 20 June 2014
  32. ^ FIDE confirms So's transfer to USCF Manila Times Published 30 October 2014
  33. ^ FIDE Player transfers FIDE website
  34. ^ "One of the world's top chess players makes his move – to Minnetonka". Star Tribune. March 25, 2015.
  35. ^ "Carlsen wins Wijk Masters, Wei Yi wins B". ChessBase. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  36. ^ "Fabiano Caruana wins the Dortmund Sparkassen tournament 2015 | The Week in Chess". theweekinchess.com. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  37. ^ (PeterDoggers), Peter Doggers. "So Beats Giri In Blitz Tiebreak, Wins Bilbao Masters Final - Chess.com". Chess.com. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  38. ^ "Wesley So partners with Tukmakov". Chess News. 2017-01-27. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  39. ^ "Sinquefield Cup 9: Wesley wins it all". chess24.com. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  40. ^ "Wesley So, double winner in London". Chess News. 2016-12-18. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
  41. ^ "Wesley So Wins 79th Tata Steel Chess Tournament". Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  42. ^ Copeland, Sam (16 February 2016). "Carlsen, So Topple Division Leaders In PRO Chess Week 6". chess.com. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  43. ^ "Pairings & Results | Championship". www.uschesschamps.com. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
  44. ^ McGourty, Colin. "Shamkir 1-2: So's streak ends, Eljanov leads". chess24.com. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
  45. ^ "Levon Aronian wins Norway Chess 2017!". Chess News. 2017-06-16. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  46. ^ "Paris GCT, Day 5: Carlsen wins despite MVL surge". chess24.com. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  47. ^ "Grand Chess Tour - Leuven: Wesley So wins Rapid stage". Chess News. 2017-07-01. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  48. ^ "Grand Chess Tour - Leuven Express: Magnus Carlsen runs away with event | ChessBase". En.chessbase.com. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
  49. ^ "Wesley So's so-so Sinquefield". Chess News. 2017-08-21. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  50. ^ "FIDE World Cup 2017: And then there were two!". Chess News. 2017-09-22. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  51. ^ "Kramnik to play 2018 Candidates". Chess News. 2017-10-30. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  52. ^ Men's Chess Olympiads – Wesley So Olimpbase Accessed 23 September 2014
  53. ^ Cardoso, Rodolfo Tan (2007-12-10). World's Youngest GM – GM Wesley So, age 14. ChessBase (Rodolfo Tan Cardoso), 10 December 2007. Retrieved from http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4313.
  54. ^ Close-Up: Wesley So! alinalami.com Published 21 June 2011
  55. ^ "Interview with Wesley So and Game Review from 2009 World Cup | Chess Blog of iChess.NET". Chess Videos, Chess DVDs, Chess Software and more. 2011-08-22. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  56. ^ "GM Wesley So No-Loss Record Vs GMs with 2700+ rating". chessaccount. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
  57. ^ Games Of The Month e3e5.com Published 18 December 2006
  58. ^ Catacutan, Dodo (13 July 2017). "How the Philippines managed to lose a potential world chess champion in Wesley So". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  59. ^ So, Wesley. "I'm a Rare Breed: An Elite Chess Player Who's Open About His Faith". Christiantiy Today. Retrieved 2017-08-29. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
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