Wesley So settles for 2nd behind Duda in Armageddon

MANILA, Philippines – Wesley So’s recovery run in the World Chess Armageddon Series ended up short on Thursday, September 21, as the Team USA standout yielded to Jan-Krzysztof Duda of Poland, 2-0, in the final and settled for second place in the televised tournament in Berlin, Germany.

After losing his first match against India’s Gukesh D. by a 0-2 score, So dropped to the loser’s bracket where he showed steely nerves as he bested fellow American Sam Shankland, Indian Humpy Koneru, and German Richard Rapport to arrange a lower bracket finals tussle with Uzbek Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who bowed to Duda in the winners’ bracket final.

So, who got swamped by Magnus Carlsen in the semifinals of the just-concluded 2023 Speed Chess Championship held online, prevailed over Abdusattorov, but eventually got beat by Duda for the 80,000 euro (P4.85 million) top purse.

Still, So, winner of the American Championship Series: Americas for his first title in 2023, pocketed P2.4 million.

During the match, So’s blood pressure was monitored at 178 beats per minute, while that of Duda was at 144 bpm. – Rappler.com