Wesley So tops rapid portion of Paris chess tilt

United States champion Wesley So won over US teammate Fabiano Caruana and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France in succession to top the rapid portion of the 2021 Paris Rapid and Blitz on Sunday, June 20.

Coupled with his ninth and last round draw with French grandmaster Etienne Bacrot, So pooled 12 points out of a perfect 18 to move ahead of world title challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia in the $150,000 (around P7.3 million) event serving as the second leg of the Grand Chess Tour.

Stalled by back-to-back draws with Iranian teen sensation Alireza Firouzja and fellow Russian Peter Svidler, Nepomniachtchi regained his stride with a closing victory over Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan for 11 points.

Bacrot, the lowest-rated among the 10 participants, drew with Radjabov in the seventh round and stunned Caruana in the eighth to rise to 10 points.

Vachier-Lagrave, winner of the 2019 Paris edition, bested Firouzja, while Svidler thwarted Armenian Levon Aronian in the ninth round to share the fourth spot with 9 points each.

Bunched at 8 points were world No. 2 Caruana, Aronian, Radjabov, and Hungary’s Richard Rapport. Groping for form, Firouzja landed at the bottom with 7 points.

So, the Philippines’ top player before moving over to Team USA, stretched his unbeaten run to 18 games, including 8 draws and 1 win in the recent Superbet Chess Classic, where he wound up at joint second with Aronian and absentee Alexander Grischuk of Russia.

Play shifts to blitz on Monday and Tuesday, with former Russian world champion Vladimir Kramnik taking over partner Bacrot’s spot. Their combined total will determine their final placing. – Rappler.com