MANILA, Philippines - GM Wesley So fell to French Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, 0.5-1.5, in their fourth round duel Monday night and crashed out of the Chess World Cup 2015 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The setback likewise denied him of a chance to qualify for the 2016 Candidates Matches.
After forcing a 41-move draw in their first round clash, So blew a slight positional advantage and absorbed a heartbreaking 68-move defeat to Vachier-Lagrave that eliminated the former from the race for two outright Candidates slots staked in the biennial meet.
In a post-game analysis, So’s capture of a central pawn proved to be his undoing as this forced him later to give up a piece for two pawns.
He tried to force a draw but Vachier-Lagrave outwitted him at endgame to squeeze out the match-clinching win.
The French GM had a knight and pawn when So, on the verge of losing one of his three pawns, resigned on the 68th.
The win also enabled Vachier-Lagrave to hike his rating to 2768 and wrest the No. 10 spot in the world ranking from So, who slid to No. 12 with 2767.1.