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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Wesley So downs Carlsen, gains solo lead in Champions Chess Tour Finals

Wesley So downs Carlsen, gains solo lead in Champions Chess Tour Finals

Published Dec 12, 2023 05:44 am

At A Glance

  • Wesley So delivered a performance to remember as he slew World No. 1 and former world champion Magnus Carlsen, 2-1, in their Armageddon duel in the fifth round of the Champions Chess Tour Finals in Toronto, Canada on Tuesday, Dec. 12.

Wesley So delivered a performance to remember as he slew World No. 1 and former world champion Magnus Carlsen, 2-1, in their Armageddon duel in the fifth round of the Champions Chess Tour Finals in Toronto, Canada on Tuesday, Dec. 12.

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Grandmaster Wesley So currently leads the Champions Chess Tour Finals with six points. (File Photo)

The Cavite-born So, who competes for the United States and is now ranked No. 6 in the world, pounced on the Norwegian chess superstar in 59 moves of a Sicilian Defense en route to the electric win -- enough to boost his morale and secured another match victory in the six round over Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

It was a show of force for So, whose titanic triumph over Carlsen showed his ability to contend for the world championship crown in the future.

The back-to-back wins catapulted So to the top with six points as he currently battles US teammate Fabiano Caruana in the seventh and last round.

Carlsen, for his part, bounced back from that crushing defeat with a 1.5-0.5 thrashing of France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to remain at second with five points, one point behind So.

The win also secured So one of the six berths to the next phase where he was joined Carlsen, Caruana (4 points) and Abdusattorov (3 points) with the last two seats being contested by American Hikaru Nakamura, Vachier-Lagrave, Iran-born Alireza Firouzja of France and Belarussian Denis Lazavik.

While he was impressive against Carlsen, So was pushed to the edge by Abdusattorov, who appeared headed to denting the former’s perfect record with a deadly active pair of bishops.

But the Uzbek failed to sustain his edge, allowing the rock-solid So to escape with the match-clinching draw in this event that is staking a total pot of $500,000 including $200,000 to the winner.

 

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