WESLEY So drew with fellow grandmaster Maxime Vachier Lagrave in the ninth and final round to win the crown in the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis, Missouri.
So, who used to represent the Philippines, before acquiring American citizenship last year, finished with 2 wins and 7 draws for a total a total of 5.5 points in this annual, invite-only chess tournament, held in honor of Rex Sinquefield and his wife Jeanne, the founders of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.
The 22-year-old So, playing the black pieces, forced his French rival to agree to a standoff in 47 moves of Ponziani opening.
This was after So captured Vachier-Lagrave’s last pawn at the kingside 4th rank, leaving the white king exposed and with only a rook protecting it.
GM Fabiano Caruana was tied for second to sixth with five points after drawing with Anish Giri.
Defending champion Levon Aronian won over Veselin Topalov to share five points with Caruana.
So, who has an ELO rating of 2771, took home a cash prize of $75,000. Peter Atencio