Wesley So tests teen sensations Firouzja, Praggnanandhaa

Wesley So tests the mettle of young sensations Alireza Firouzja and R. Praggnanandhaa in the first set of elimination round matches in the New In Chess Classic on Saturday, April 24 (Sunday, April 25, Philippine time).

Bidding to keep the overall lead in the Champions Chess Tour (CCT), So tangles with Firouzja, the world’s highest junior player, in the first round, and Praggnanandhaa, the 15-year-old Indian prodigy, in the third round.

So, the reigning United States and Fischer Random chess champion, will also battle Jan-Krzysztof Duda of Poland in the second round, debuting Englishman Gawain Jones in the fourth, and 2013 world rapid champion Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan in the fifth to wrap up his assignments for the day.

World champion Magnus Carlsen and speed chess star Hikaru Nakamura are ranked 1-2 in the 16-man $100,000 event serving as the fifth leg of the $1.5 million (P72 million) tour.

So will handle black against the 17-year-old Firouzja, whom he trounced in the quarterfinals of last month’s Magnus Carlsen Invitational, and Praggnanandhaa, ruler of the recent Polgar Challenge.

One of Praggnanandhaa’s best moments happened in 2018 when he stunned So in their first game in the Leon Masters. So rebounded to win the four-game match, 2.5-1.5.

Completing the roster are Lenier Dominguez of the US, former Armenia No. 1 and now Team USA member Levon Aronian, Azerbaijani Teimour Radjabov, Vietnamese ace Le Quang Liem, Russian Sergey Karjakin, Indian Vidit Gujrathi, and Norwegian prospects Aryan Tari and Johan-Sebastian Christiansen.

Like Praggnanandhaa, young players Tari and Christiansen are making their first appearance in the 10-leg CCT.

So topped the inaugural event (Skilling Open) and the third leg (Opera Euro Rapid) to pace Carlsen in the CCT overall points race as well as total earnings.

Carlsen is pitted against Karjakin, Le, Dominguez, Gujrathi, and second leg (Airthings Masters) winner Radjabov.

Nakamura takes on Mamedyarov, Karjakin, Le, Dominguez, and Gujrathi in succession.

The top 8 after the single round-robin eliminations will advance to the quarterfinals where play shifts to knockout matches. – Rappler.com