Wesley So wins second straight US Chess Championship title

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Filipino chess wizard Wesley So added another prestigious title under his belt after capturing his second-straight US Open Championship crown held at the Saint Louis Chess Club in Missouri.

Despite the early hurdle So had to overcome in his road to the championship stage, the prized Filipino was able to recover and bag the $50,000 (2.5 million pesos) grand prize money.

So had to deal with two top chess players in the world after overcoming world no.2 Fabiano Caruana to secure the championship title.

The Cavite-born chess player also outlasted Sam Sevian in the late rounds of the playoffs and was in full control of the playing board from start to finish.

Before man-handling Caruana and Sevian to win the championship, there were doubts if So would reach the championship round after missing the chance to win against Daniel Naroditsky in the ninth round.

However, So pushed and continued to fight hard every round that helped him earn more playoff contention spots in the end and eventually led to a title shot.

“I thought the tournament was pretty much over by yesterday, Fabiano almost won three games in a row. It just gave me a new breath of life that the tournament was not yet over, that I might still have some chances,” said So.

So added that he will take a break from chess in the meantime after winning the 2021 US Open Championship.