Wesley So edges Magnus Carlsen in blitz playoff for Skilling Open title

Dec 1, 2020

WESLEY So defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen on Sunday in the Skilling Open final, the first tournament of the Champions Chess Tour 2021.

So bagged US$30,000 (around P1.4 million) from the $1.5 million prize fund.

The match was tied after four games before the 27-year-old Filipino Grandmaster, who now represents the US, won the blitz playoff against the Norwegian star, who turned 30 on Sunday.

“I have to apologize to Magnus for semi-ruining his birthday,” So said in a report by chess24.com.

So placed third in the preliminaries, defeated Teimour Radjabov in the quarterfinals, and Hikaru Nakamura in the semifinals.

Carlsen topped the 16-game preliminaries.