Wesley So

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Wesley So

So in 2010

Full name

Wesley Barbasa So

Country

Philippines, United States

Born

October 9, 1993 (age 21)

Bacoor, Cavite, Philippines

Title

Grandmaster (2008)

FIDE rating

2778 (June 2015)

Peak rating

2794 (April 2015)

Ranking

No. 7 (April 2015)

Peak ranking

No. 5 (April 2015)

Wesley Barbasa So (born October 9, 1993 in Bacoor, Philippines) is

a Filipino chess grandmaster representing the United States. So is a former chess prodigy.
In October 2008, he became the youngest player to pass 2600 Elo rating, breaking the record
held by Magnus Carlsen.[1] In early 2013, So passed the "elite" 2700 rating and in February
2015 he entered the World top 10 after winning the Millionaire Chess Open and tying for
second place at the 2015 Tata Steel Chess Tournament.
So won Group C in the 2009 edition of the Corus Chess Tournament and is a three-time
Philippines Chess Champion.
Contents
[hide]

1 Early years

2 Rising to elite status

3 Federation change, chess professional

4 Team results
o

4.1 International team results

5 Playing style

6 References

7 External links

Early years[edit]
So was born in Bacoor, Cavite in 1993 to William and Eleanor So, both accountants. So
attended the Jesus Good Shepherd School and went on to St. Francis of Assisi College in
Bacoor.[2]
He was aged six when his father taught him to play chess and nine when he began competing
in junior tournaments.
As a junior player, So won the Philippines U-10s Championship in 2003. He also competed in
various sections of World Youth Chess Championships, finishing 19th in the U-10s in 2003,
[3]
13th in the U-12s in 2004 and fourth place in the U-12s in 2005. [4][5] He also took part in the
ASEAN Open U-10s in 2004, securing individual golds in the standard and rapid sections
along with team silver medals in the standard and rapid along with winning individual golds in
the standard, rapid and blitz sections in the U-12s in 2005.
So took first place at the 2003 Philippine National Chess Championships in the U-10s section. [6]

Rising to elite status[edit]

So made his tournament debut at the Nice International Open in August 2005, finishing in
shared eighth place with 5/7. He also completed three International Master norms in the space
of four months, becoming the youngest Filipino to achieve that status after scoring 5/9 at the
Dubai Open, 5.5/9 at the San Marino Open and 6.5/11 at the Dato Arthur Tan Malaysia Open.
During this period, So made his first Olympiad appearance on second reserve board at
the 37th Chess Olympiadheld in Turin in 2006.
So's form continued with 5.5/9 at the Calvia Open, his first GM-norm with 7/9 at the Bad
Wiessee Open, tying for sixth with 4/8 at the GMA Presidents Cup inParaaque and ended
2006 by scoring 6/9 at the Singapore Masters. In January 2007, So qualified for the Chess
World Cup 2007 via the Zonal tournament held in Phu Quoc, Vietnam, scoring 5.5/9. Between
January 2006 and April 2007, So had increased his FIDE rating by 303 points to 2519.
In May 2007, he went on to become National Junior Chess Champion. So got his second GM
norm by scoring 7.5/13 at the 2007 World Junior Chess Championship in Yerevan. He
achieved his third and final Grandmaster norm in December 8, 2007 at the Pichay Cup
International Open (Manila, Philippines), thus becoming the youngest Filipino grandmaster at
the age of 14 and the seventh youngest to reach the title.
January 2008 saw So finish fourth with 7/11 at the ASEAN Chess Circuit event held in Tarakan,
Indonesia. In April 2008 So shared first place at the Dubai Open, scoring 7/9. [7][8] He also
finished in third place with 7/9 at a blitz tournament held during the rest day. So then
defeated Susanto Megaranto 4-2 in a six-game match as part of the JAPFA Chess Festival
held in Jakarta, won the "Battle of Grandmasters tournament" with 8/11 (+6 =5 -0) in Manila,
came tenth with 7.5/11 in the Philippines Open followed immediately with second place at the
Subic Open with 6.5/9.

Wesley So at Dresden Olympiad 2008

In July 2008, So came second with 12.5/17 in a tournament to decide the team for the
2008 38th Chess Olympiad, followed by sharing eighth place at the World Juniors
Championship held in Gaziantep, Turkey. He shared second with Zurab
Azmaiparashvili scoring 6.5/9 at the Vietnam Open but finished well back at the Arroyo Cup in
sixteenth place. During the previous 3-month rating period So completed 69 rated games.
After competing in the Asian Club Cup, So made his first appearance at a major chess
tournament by winning the Corus Group C in January 2009, a point ahead of Anish

Giri and Tiger Hillarp Persson with a score of 9.5/13,[9] earning a spot in Group B the next year.
He scored 5/9 and shared 17th place at the strong Aeroflot Open held in Moscow.[10] He
showed his strength against home opposition scoring 9/11 at the Dapitan City Battle of GMs,
but found it difficult at the Asian Continental Championships in Subic scoring 6.5/11 and
sharing 18th place. So won a seat in the 2009 Chess World Cup by finishing second at the
Zonal Championship held in July 2009 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.[11] After competing in the
Chinese Chess League, So shared fourth place at the SPICE Cup Group A with a solid 4.5/10.
At the age of 16, So became one of the stories of the 2009 Chess World Cup held in KhantyMansiysk after progressing to the fourth round before being knocked out by Vladimir
Malakhov after rapid tiebreaks. He defeated Gadir Guseinov after rapid tiebreaks then
defeated the experienced Vassily Ivanchuk and Gata Kamsky.[12] This was followed by sharing
fourth place at the Corus Chess Group B in early 2010 with Erwin l'Ami scoring 7.5/13 and
sharing seventh place with 5.5/9 at the Aeroflot Open. Sharing second place with 6.5/9 at the
Asian Continental Championships in April earned him a spot in theChess World Cup 2011 and
he secured a second Philippine Chess Championship.
As So's playing strength and rating increased, so did the number of invites to high-level events.
So initially led the strong Biel tournament before drifting back to share fifth place with 4.5/9.
[13]
Three weeks later, So held his own in the last NH "Experience vs Rising Stars" Match
(played under Scheveningen match rules) scoring 4.5/10 for the "Rising Stars" team. [14] So took
part in the 39th Chess Olympiad and placed fourth, scoring 5.5/10 at the 2010 Spice Cup,
before the Asian Games.

So at Tata Steel Chess 2011

So tied for fourth place at Tata Steel (formerly Corus) Group B but withdrew from the Aeroflot
Open, held soon after, citing exhaustion from the previous event. [15] In July 2011 he won
the Philippine Chess Championship for a third time.[16] So's rating would hover over the coming
year with a solid performance at the strong AAI International Tournament in New Delhi among
performances typical for his rating.

In August 2012, So began full-time study at Webster University[17] in St. Louis under the SPICE
program, founded by former women's world champion Susan Polgar. In September 2012, So
found success in first place at the Quebec International, scoring 7.5/9, half a point ahead
of Lazaro Bruzon and at the 40th Chess Olympiad drew against numerous top-level players
including Levon Aronian, who described So as a "talented player from a country with a great
chess culture".[18]
So came second in the Zonal 3.3 Championship in Tagaytay, Philippines earning a place in
the Chess World Cup 2013 and shared first place with Pavel Eljanov and Bassem Amin at the
Reykjavik Open. In doing so he breached the 2700 Elo mark, considered to be the level of an
elite player and placed him 50th in the World. So won also gold at the 2013 Summer
Universiade in Kazan, Russia, the first such medal for the Philippines, after a play off match
with Zaven Andriasian.[19] After defeating Alexander Ipatov in the first round of the Chess World
Cup, he was knocked out by eventual semi-finalist Evgeny Tomashevsky. In October 2013, So
won the Unive Crown Group scoring 4.5/6.[20]
So tied for fourth with Fabiano Caruana and Lenier Dominguez at the 2014 Tata Steel Chess
Tournament Group A scoring 6/11.[21][22] He also won the 49th Capablanca Memorial tournament,
held in Havana, a point clear of Lazaro Bruzon,[23]soon after winning the ACP Golden Classic
tournament in Bergamo, Italy with a score of 4.5/6, a point ahead of Baadur Jobava.[24] This
string of tournaments propelled So to 12th in the FIDE World Rankings.

Federation change, chess professional[edit]

So's transfer to the United States Chess Federation was confirmed in the November 2014
rating list.[25][26] Soon after, he left Webster University to focus full time on chess. [27] He moved
to Minnetonka, Minnesota.[28]
He won the Millionaire Chess Tournament held in Las Vegas in October 2014 scoring 8.5/13
and shared second place at the Tata Steel Masters in January 2015.[29]

Team results[edit]
International team results[edit]
So has competed in four Chess Olympiads (representing the Philippines), making his debut at
12 years old at the Turin Olympiad in 2006:[30]
Event

Board

Individual result

Team result

Olympiad, Turin 2006

Second Reserve

3/5

44th

World Youth U16 Olympiad, Singapore 2007

First

9.5/10 (Gold)

Bronze

World Youth U16 Olympiad, Mersin 2008

First

9/10 (Gold)

Bronze

Olympiad, Dresden 2008

Second

7/10 (11th)

46th

Olympiad, Khanty-Mansiysk 2010

First

6.5/10 (27th)

50th

Asian Games, Guangzhou 2010

First

5/8

Silver

Olympiad, Istanbul 2012

First

6.5/11 (16th)

21st

Playing style[edit]
This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

As a young player, his aggressive and tactical style of play caught the attention of former
Philippine chess champion, International Master Rodolfo Tan Cardoso. Cardoso said, "The
young lad...would sacrifice a queen or any other pieces in his arsenal to get a winning
attack." Also, according to Cardoso, "He cannot afford decent training given by well known
GM-coaches and has to rely on his pure talent...before competing." [31]
So-Prusikin, 2006
a

Position after 18...cxd4 White launched a spectacular combination with 19.Nxe6

So commented during an interview with Alina l'Ami in 2009 "So far I play aggressively. I
would like to play a solid game with a solid opening. This is what I want. I think my style is
close to Vishy Anand. Of course we have different level."[32]He has also said that his
favourite game was his win against Ni Hua in the 2008 Chess Olympiad, which was his
first win against a 2700-rated opponent.
During So's tournament victory at Bad Wiessee in 2006, he earned a creativity award in
the Russian magazine e3e5 for the following game, where he won in spectacular fashion:
[33]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bxe7 Qxe7 7. f4 a6 8. Nf3 b6 9.

Qd2 c5 10. Nd1 O-O 11. c3 f6 12. Bd3 a5 13. O-O Ba6 14. exf6 Qxf6 15. Ng5 g6 16. Ne3
h5 17. Rae1 Bxd3 18. Qxd3 cxd4 (see diagram) 19. Nxe6 Qxe6 20. Nxd5 Qf7 21. Re7
Qf5 22. Qxd4 Nf6 23. Re5 Qd7 24. Qd3 Nxd5 25. Qxg6 Qg7 26. Qe6+ Qf7 27. Qh6 Qf6
28. Rg5+ Kf7 29. Qh7+ Ke8 30. Rxd5 1-0

References[edit]
1.

Jump up^ von Keitz, Michael (12 February 2013). "Carlsen's Conquests at 22 he has
broken all records". ChessBase News. Retrieved2 March 2013.

2.

Jump up^ Brilliant Wesley So tops tough Dubai Open INQUIRER.net Published 16
April 2008

3.

Jump up^ WYCC Boys U10s 2003 Chess-results Accessed 18 September 2014

4.

Jump up^ WYCC Boys U12s 2004 Chess-results Accessed 18 September 2014

5.

Jump up^ WYCC Boys U12s 2005 Chess-results Accessed 18 September 2014

6.

Jump up^ Interview with Wesley SoOnline Chess Lessons Accessed 19 September

7.

Jump up^ Wesley So wins Dubai OpenChessbase Published 17 April 2008

8.

Jump up^ World Youngest Grandmaster, Filipino Wesley So, 14, Wins Dubai
Open FIDE published 6 April 2008

9.

Jump up^ Wijk R13: Sergey Karjakin wins Wijk aan Zee 2009 Chessbase Accessed 21
September 2014

10.

Jump up^ Aeroflot Chess: So bags top junior award GMA Network Published 26
February 2009

11.

Jump up^ Filipinos Conquer Zonal 3.3 Championship Chessdom Published 30 July
2009

12.

Jump up^ World Cup R4: Youngsters out, experience rules Chessbase Published 2
December 2009

13.

Jump up^ Biel: Three players share first, tiebreaks on Thursday Chessbase Published
29 July 2010

14.

Jump up^ NH Chess Tournament 2010The Week In Chess Published 22 August 2010

15.

Jump up^ Pinoy grandmaster So withdraws from Moscow tilt GMA Network Published
14 February 2011

16.

Jump up^ Wesley So Wins Philippines National Chess ChampionshipChessdom

Published 27 July 2011

17.

Jump up^ Wesley So arriving at Webster University Susan Polgar blog

18.

Jump up^ Interview with Levon Aronian (video) Chessdom Published 31 August 2012

19.

Jump up^ So bags first-ever PH gold in Universiade Inquirer Sports Published 16 July
2013

20.

Jump up^ Unive Crown Group and Open 2013 The Week In Chess Published 26
October 2013

21.

Jump up^ Aronian Wins Tata Steel Chess 2014; Wesley So @ 6th place
overall PhilBoxing.com (Jose Jereos Jr) Published 28 January 2014

22.

Jump up^ Tata 11: Giri and Timman take silver Chessbase Published 26 January 2014

23.

Jump up^ Wesley So with 2826 performance in Cuba ChessBase Published 20 May
2014

24.

Jump up^ ACP Golden Classic: Wesley So is the winner Chessbase Published 20
June 2014

25.

Jump up^ FIDE confirms So's transfer to USCF Manila Times Published 30 October
2014

26.

Jump up^ FIDE Player transfers FIDE website

27.

Jump up^ "Wesley So leaves Polgar, turns pro". Rappler. Ignacio Dee. Retrieved 7
February 2015.

28.

Jump up^ "One of the world's top chess players makes his move to
Minnetonka". Star Tribune. March 25, 2015.

29.

Jump up^ "Carlsen wins Wijk Masters, Wei Yi wins B". ChessBase. Retrieved31
January 2015.

30.

Jump up^ Men's Chess Olympiads - Wesley So Olimpbase Accessed 23 September

2014

31.

Jump up^ World's Youngest GM GM Wesley So, age 14 ChessBase (Rodolfo Tan
Cardoso) Published 12 October 2007

32.

Jump up^ Close-Up: Wesley So!alinalami.com Published 21 June 2011

33.

Jump up^ Games Of The Monthe3e5.com Published 18 December 2006