Cavite’s pride Wesley So placed in the Top 2 at the Croatia leg of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour held on Saturday, July 7 (Sunday, July 8, Philippine time) at Novinaski Dom in Zagrev.
The top-ranking Filipino-American chess grandmaster finished strong at the second spot just 5 points behind Grand Tour leader Magnus Carlsen of England.
“It’s late here in Croatia and I am really tired but want to thank the Lord Jesus Christ for my second place finish in the Zagreb portion of the Grand Chess Tour. He gives me good days and bad days and I am very thankful to Him for both. AMDG,” Wesley So said in a Facebook post on Monday.
On July 6 (July 7, Philippine time), So competed with reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen who achieved a half-point lead against him after nine rounds.
Both Carlsen and So have four pawns each and opposite-colored bishops in the 10th and penultimate round, ending as a draw. Carlsen has a total of 7.0 points, half a point ahead of So (6.5)
To get into the final match, Carlsen won against French Maxime Vachier Lagrave (4.5 points) while So drew with Armenian Levon Aronian (5.5) in the 11th and last round.
The United States Chess Champion made three wins against Ding Liren, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and Hikaru Nakamura, and eight draws.
The 25-year old champion chess grandmaster takes home $60,000 as second prize.
Wesley So currently ranks No. 4 overall after two tournaments in the 2019 Grand Chess Tour led by Carlsen.
Wesley So, the 3-time Philippine chess champion from Bacoor in Cavite, is now representing the United States. So will see action again as one of the 12 full tour participants in two more classical chess events and four Rapid & Blitz tournaments of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour.
The remaining schedule for the 2019 regular season is as follows:
- Paris Rapid & Blitz, July 26 – August 2, 2019, Paris, France
- Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, August 8 – 15, 2019, Saint Louis, Missouri USA
- Sinquefield Cup (Classical), August 15 – 30, 2019, Saint Louis, Missouri USA
- Superbet Rapid & Blitz, November 4 – 11, 2019, Bucharest, Romania
- Tata Steel India Rapid & Blitz, November 20 – 27, 2019, Kolkata, India
SEND your congratulations and good luck cheers in the comments below for Wesley So, Filipino-American Chess Grandmaster!
Like, Follow, Subscribe to GoodNewsPilipinas.com Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Good News Pilipinas! TV on YouTube, new story notifications and e-mail newsletters for updates on more Filipino Pride stories.
