Filipino chess prodigy making waves after life-changing decision

Sebastian Santiago

Not a few may have considered as ill-advised Wesley So’s decision to drop out of school and go full-time professional.

But only a year after making that controversial choice, the Filipino chess prodigy has shown that it made sense after all.

Ranged against the best woodpushers in the world, the 21-year-old So has been making waves and as of Saturday last week, was tied for second, just a point behind solo leader and reigning world champion GM Magnus Carlsen of Norway after 10 rounds of the super-strong 77th Tata Steel Masters in Wijk an Zee, The Netherlands.

After 10 games, So, who is now representing the United States with an eye to challenging for the world title, has remained the only unbeaten player with 6.5 points on three wins and seven draws.

He is tied with French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave at No. 2.

Two of his wins came against Ukrainian GM Vassily Ivanchuk, the former World challenger, and Armenian GM Levon Aronian, the defending champion in this 13-round, Category 20 event considered as the Wimbledon of chess.

So spectacular was So that two of his draws were with Carlsen and Italian GM Fabiano Caruana, the second highest rated chesser in the world.

So, now based in Minnesota, was playing at presstime Croatian GM Ivan Saric in the 11th round eyeing no less than a victory for a chance to catch up, if not overtake entirely, Carlsen.

So’s last two foes are Dutch GM’s Anish Giri and Loek Van Wely.

To date, So has been climbing up the rankings as he is now No. 7 in the world with a live rating of 2784.8, the highest by any Filipino so far. Not since Eugene Torre made it as Asia’s first GM, has anybody captured the imagination of Filipino chess fans than So.

If he keeps it up,Wesley’s decision to turn pro and leave his studies at Webster University may well be the game-changer of his young and brilliant chess career.

A Filipino world champion in chess? Not a far-fetched idea with So around.