Twin Cities chess player wins one of world's premier events

In the end, none of the world's best chess players — only a shard from a broken vase — was able to draw blood against a Twin Cities grandmaster who won one of the biggest super-tournaments on the international chess circuit Sunday.

Wesley So, a 22-year-old from Minnetonka, took first place at the Sinquefield Cup, the chess equivalent of winning Wimbledon or the Masters.

He did so by remaining undefeated and edging out a field comprising most of the top-10 players in the world, who battled at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis for more than a week.

The victory puts an exclamation point on what has been a breakthrough year for the Filipino-born So.

He is now ranked seventh in the world, and over the last six months has finished no lower than third place in a series of tournaments stocked with the world's elite, including current and former world champions.

Sunday's victory also is redemption for So, who finished dead last in the Sinquefield Cup last year in what he called a disastrous performance.

"It's just a fantastic result, just a fantastic turnaround," So said.

He earned $75,000 for his win, but the victory has significance beyond this single tournament.

The Sinquefield Cup is one of four tournaments this year that make up the Grand Chess Tour, a series of invitational competitions akin to golf's four majors.

Besides prizes at each of the tournaments, there's a $100,000 grand prize — and international acclaim — awaiting the player who accumulates the most points over the course of the tour.

Because he did so well in the events held in Belgium (second place) and Paris (tied for third), So now holds a commanding lead in the race for the grand prize.

If he can avoid stumbling in the final tournament in London in December, he stands a good chance of winning the overall tour, which would be his biggest achievement since he quit college in late 2014, moved to Minnetonka and began playing as a full-time professional.

So said he has benefited from competing against the very best in top-tier events for more than a year, including absorbing sometimes-painful lessons from them, as he did in last year's Sinquefield. For his victory this year, he cited strong home preparation for the tournament, "trust in the Lord and having my family support me."

He won only two of his nine games in the round-robin event, but by avoiding any losses — all of his other games were draws — he stayed a half-step ahead of the field.

He finished with 5.5 points out of 9 (with players earning one point for a win and a half point for a draw), and he held off four other players who finished a half-point behind him — two of them former world champions.

A glitch before victory

So's only hiccup during the tournament came not in the playing hall, but in the bathroom at the venue, early in his final game Sunday.

"I was very nervous before and during the game, and in the bathroom there was this flower vase," So explained. "Next thing I knew it was on the floor." In pieces.

He cut his finger trying to clean up the mess, but a Band-Aid delivered to him by a tournament official when he had returned to the chessboard stemmed the bleeding.

And when his opponent wasn't able to do any additional damage in their game, the draw was enough for So to secure the tournament victory.

"What a personable young man," said Maurice Ashley, a grandmaster who provided online commentary during the Sinquefield Cup. "His modesty — he's so self-effacing in his style — and his wisdom is what I'm impressed by. At 22, to be so insightful about how to handle his business. This young man will be a threat for a long time to come, I predict. The first of many great tournaments that he will be winning."

Next up for So is playing on the U.S. team in the chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan, which begins Sept. 2.

With the team containing three of the top seven players in the world, the U.S. stands a strong chance of earning a medal, though Russia has a higher-rated team. China and a number of Eastern European countries are also contenders.

Dennis J. McGrath • 612-673-4293