Wesley So ends Sinquefield Cup tied for last place

MANILA, Philippines – After entering the year riding a 67-game no loss streak and winning at the 2017 Tata Steel tournament in the Netherlands, Wesley So has slowed down.

Like a punched out boxer, So finished tied for last place with Ian Nepomniatchi at 3 points in the Sinquefield Cup in St Louis.

He took 4 losses in this event won by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with 6/9. Vachier-Lagrave was the first to beat So in St Louis. World champ Magnus Carlsen and former titleholder Viswanathan Anand were tied for second with 5.5 points.

On live rating So is now number 6 in the world after rising to as high as number two this year. This would endanger his bid to enter the Candidates Tournament by rating.

So has been quiet about his slip in form. But on Monday, he is not among the cast of the Sinquefield Rapid Chess tournament where the legendary Garry Kasparov will compete. It is his first event since retiring in 2005.

A brief look at his losses show So losing an equal endgame vs Vachier Lagrave, falling to Carlsen in a better position out of the opening, being outplayed by Aronian and yielding to Karjakin after losing the advantage. – Rappler.com