Best in the world? So what?
As great as Wesley So is at chess, he’s still an underdog when you pit him against world number one Magnus Carlsen.
And that’s exactly how it looked when they faced off in Round 5 of the Champion Chess Tour Finals on Monday in Toronto. Their match was a tiebreaker for the solo lead in the tournament. When the smoke cleared, it was the Filipino-American grandmaster who prevailed.
Yep, So, ranked eighth in the world, found a way to outsmart the game’s very best in an Armageddon battle, which means whoever has the black pieces only needs a draw to win the match.
It was the 33-year-old grandmaster from Norway who drew black. So, however, employed the right strategy, which forced Carlsen to resign in the third and deciding game for a 2.0-1.0 score.
After the match, So bared his thought process as he was gunning for the upset.
“Praise Jesus for all wins come from him,” the three-time US Chess champion said.
“It’s a miracle that I won. When I sacrificed the piece (knight), I knew that my only chance was to go all-out for an attack against Magnus. I don’t think the big sacrifice (always) works but sometimes you have to take a leap of faith,” he elaborated.
The 30-year-old So clearly understood what he was up against, which prompted him to stay on the offensive.
“If I played slowly, I would get absolutely nothing,” the former Philippine chess team member said.
“I figured I had to go for it. If I lose, I was going to lose anyway,” he added.
So officially became a US citizen in 2021 following his dissatisfaction with the Philippines’ national chess program. Now, he continues to reap the benefits of that crucial decision.
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His next opponent in the $500,000 tournament is 19-year-old grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan.
(PM)