Wesley So scored his first-ever classical game win over world champion and no. 1 woodpusher Magnus Carlsen.
So won in 36 moves of the Slav Variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined and because of this, he shook up the standings at the Altibox Norway Chess tournament, putting him in a share of second spot with Levon Aronian with three points.
They are now half a point behind the world champion after six rounds.
After meeting Carlsen, So will play three more games.
“I finally managed to catch him on his off day,” Wesley So in an online interview.
So’s triumph came at a time when Carlsen has not been playing well, while the Filipino grandmaster is.
It was also the first loss for Carlsen in 2018 as he saw his streak of 37 games without a loss come to an end.