World no. 8 woodpusher Wesley So admitted he had a difficult time against Italian American grandmaster Fabiano Caruana.
So talked about his match where the world No. 2 ranked Caruana got crucial points in his last two games against the Filipino GM. Caruana earned a 9.5 – 8.5 triumph at the close of their two-day 12-game semifinals encounter in the 2020 Clutch Chess International online tournament.
“All rounds at this level are extremely difficult. You do not get into the top ten of the world by accident and when you know that your opponents are the best in the world, all the games are exhausting and nerve wracking,” said So in an online statement provided to the Manila Standard by the organizers.
The 2835-ELO rated Caruana went on the finals, and is currently tied after the first six of his 12-game clash with world no. 1 Magnus Carlsen, 4-all.
The 26-year-old So promised to bounce back in future tournaments.
So far, Caruana and Carlsen have played to two wins and two draws each.
Their scores stayed tied after the Carlsen took Game 5, and Caruana claimed Game 6, and each one got two points each.
In Game 6, Caruana played white and took the initiative when his knight went to check the a6 pawn, and he went on to simplify the game.
Caruana posted a 54-move triumph to gain to keep up with Carlsen going into Round 2.
Earlier in Game 5, Caruana made a stand in the middle game with the black pieces with precise moves.
But an error on the 44th push allowed Carlsen to pick up all of Caruana’s remaining queenside pawns.
From there, Caruana quit on a losing king and pawn endgame position.
“Considering that I was never really in the lead today and I was sort of playing catch-up, it’s very good to be on equal footing with him now,” said Caruana in an online statement at the end of the Game 6.