Wesley So
| Wesley So | |
|---|---|
So in 2015
|
|
| Full name | Wesley Barbasa So |
| Country |
Philippines (until November 2015) United States (since November 2015) |
| Born |
October 9, 1993 Bacoor, Cavite, Philippines |
| Title | Grandmaster (2008) |
| FIDE rating | 2822 (February 2017) |
| Peak rating | 2822 (February 2017) |
| Ranking | No. 3 (February 2017) |
| Peak ranking | No. 3 (February 2017) |
Wesley Barbasa So (born October 9, 1993) is a Filipino chess grandmaster representing the United States.
A former chess prodigy, So became the youngest player to pass 2600 Elo rating in October 2008, breaking the record previously held by Magnus Carlsen. This record has since been broken by John M. Burke. In early 2013, So passed 2700 and in January 2017 So became the 11th player to pass 2800 Elo.
So won the 2016 Grand Chess Tour title after claiming victory in the Sinquefield Cup and London Chess Classic. He also won the 2017 Tata Steel Masters, the 2015 Bilbao Chess Masters and three-times the Philippines Chess Championship.
In March 2016, So received the $42,000 Samford Fellowship.
So was born in Bacoor, Cavite in 1993 to William and Eleanor So, both accountants. So attended the Jesus Good Shepherd School and went on to St. Francis of Assisi College in Bacoor.
He was aged six when his father taught him to play chess and nine when he began competing in junior tournaments. So took first place at the 2003 Philippine National Chess Championships in the U-10s section. As a junior player, he also competed in various sections of World Youth Chess Championships, finishing 19th in the U-10s in 2003, 13th in the U-12s in 2004 and fourth place in the U-12s in 2005. He also took part in the ASEAN Open U-10s in 2004, securing individual golds in the standard and rapid sections along with team silver medals in the standard and rapid along with winning individual golds in the standard, rapid and blitz sections in the U-12s in 2005.
So made his tournament debut at the Nice International Open in August 2005, finishing in sixteenth place (from 159) with 4/7. He also completed three International Master norms in the space of four months, becoming the youngest Filipino to achieve that status after scoring 5/9 at the Dubai Open, 5.5/9 at the San Marino Open and 6.5/11 at the Dato Arthur Tan Malaysia Open. During this period, So made his first Olympiad appearance on second reserve board at the 37th Chess Olympiad held in Turin in 2006.
...
Wikipedia