Wesley So
Wesley So (b. 1993), a daily Bible reader, won by a wide margin the Chess.com Global Championship in November 2022.[2] Wesley So played in a spectacular manner to take his undefeated commanding lead into the final, where he then won.[3]
His record of many championships include winning the United States chess championship in October 2020 by playing with a sky-high performance rating of 2919.[4] Wesley So has also been the world champion in Fischer Random Chess, after routing Magnus Carlsen in the finals. On December 1, 2020, So also defeated Carlsen in the finals of the Skilling Open to win that tournament. In June 2021, So dominated the annual Paris Rapid & Blitz tournament and won it easily, defeating his closest rival and the world #2 player Ian Nepomniachtchi ("Nepo") in the final round.[5]
So is considered the finest player in the 3|1 time control game of speed chess.[6] He has no known weaknesses at chess.
So is a devout Christian who reads the Bible daily and he attends church weekly.[7] He immigrated from the Philippines to the United States, and settled in Minnesota.
As of December 21, 2020, Wesley So was ranked #2 on blitz chess on chess.com, behind only Hikaru Nakamura. On December 9th, they played at least 20 games of speed chess there from which others can learn.
In October 2022, So was unsuccessful in defending his championship in Fischer Random Chess against a very strong field of the top players in the world.
Favorite opening
Wesley So's favorite opening, with both the white and black pieces, is Ruy Lopez, Berlin defense, open variation.[8]
Quotes
"I'd like to thank many people — I'm sure I'll miss many names — but first I'd like to thank the Lord Jesus for letting me win.[9]
"Whatever I accomplish I offer up to Him [God] as a sacrifice of praise."[10]
External links
- I’m a Rare Breed: An Elite Chess Player Who’s Open About His Faith by Wesley So, Christianity Today, Christianity Today, 2017
- Wesley So: Elite US Chess Player Shares His Christian Faith, Triablogue.com
- Wesley So: “I am not foolish enough to think I can do this by myself”, Evangelical Focus, 2017
References
- ↑ Wesley So Bible reading
- ↑ https://www.chess.com/article/view/chesscom-global-championship-2022
- ↑ https://www.chess.com/news/view/2022-chesscom-global-championship-final-d1
- ↑ https://new.uschess.org/news/wesley-so-2020-us-chess-champion-after-crushing-performance
- ↑ https://www.chess.com/news/view/wesley-so-wins-2021-paris-rapid-blitz
- ↑ https://www.chess.com/news/view/so-defeats-duda-with-incredible-3-1-performance-in-speed-chess
- ↑ Wesley So Bible reading
- ↑ https://www.365chess.com/players/Wesley_So
- ↑ https://twitter.com/chess24com/status/1407375356827516937?lang=en
- ↑ https://evangelicalfocus.com/life-tech/2302/wesley-so-i-am-not-foolish-enough-to-think-i-can-do-this-by-myself
