Wesley So has returned to the no. 3 position in the world rankings.
The 24-year-old So made it back after he repulsed British grandmaster Gawain Jones in 52 moves of a King’s Indian Defense.
This gave So his third win following seven draws and a loss in round 11 of the 80th Tata Steel Chess Masters Tournament in Wijk Aan Zee, the Netherlands.
A bad knight c4 by the black-playing Jones gave So the winning opportunities he needed.
He had a good knight move to e4 square. It led to an exchange of pieces, and So gained a one-pawn when it was over.
Jones quit when So checked Jones’ king with a rook.
His win allowed So to bounce back from his 74-move loss to world no. 1 GM Magnus Carlsen in Round 10.
This also put So back to no. 3 in the unofficial live world rankings, and with Shakh Mamedyarov now at no. 2.
So shares no. 3 in the standings at 6.5 points with Vladimir Kramnik and Sergey Karjakin.
Carlsen is still holding on to the lead with Anish Giri and Mamedyarov.
That’s after Carlsen drew with Mamedyarov in 27 moves of an English Opening.
Carlsen and Mamedyarov share 7.5 points with Giri, who drew with Fabiano Caruana in 44 moves of a Queen’s Pawn Game.
Viswananthan Anand, who is So’s next rival, is at solo second with seven points.
Anand earlier won over Hou Yi Fan in 33 moves of a Queen’s Gambit Declined.