MANILA, Philippines – Philippine-born United States bet Wesley So conquered reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen to reign supreme in the Euro Opera Rapid of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour on Monday.
The 27-year-old So cashed in on all the chances given him while Carlsen just failed to capitalize on his as the latter scored 2.5-1.5 on the final day after a 2-2 draw the day before to claim his second title in the Tour plus the top prize worth US$30,000 or P1.5 million.
It was now the second time that So, the world Fischer-Random champion, brought down Carlsen, the world blitz, rapid and standard king, following the latter’s triumph in the Skilling Open in December last year.
Interestingly, So’s first win over Carlsen came on the latter’s birthday while this most recent one happened on Valentine’s Day.
“I’d like to apologize to Magnus for ruining his Valentine’s Day,” said So.
And with two crowns and a quarterfinal finish in the Airthings Masters last month, So has now overtaken Azeri Teimour Radjabov for the Tour lead with 108 points and US$70,000 (P3.5M) earnings.
So took the lead for good after punishing Carlsen for his empty sacrificial attack.
They fought to thrilling draws in the next two before So came four moves away from checkmating Carlsen in the final game.
But So mercifully settled for a standoff knowing a draw would suffice.