Player Profile: Wesley So

Full Name: Wesley Barbossa So 

Peak FIDE Rating: 2822 (March 2017) - 5th Highest rated player in the history. 

Active Since: 2003

Federation: United States

Player Description:

He made Carlsen tilt before it was trendy.  The Filipino prodigy turned American powerhouse who handed the World No. 1 a bitter pill in Stavanger, 2018. 

Did Carlsen bang the table in frustration? Maybe….Maybe not….

For starters, Wesley So is a Filipino-American super grandmaster and can be considered one of the world’s best chess players in history. He is renowned for his deep positional understanding and his tactical prowess.

At the age of 14, Wesley became the 9th youngest grandmaster, and in the next year, he became the youngest player to break the 2600 Elo mark, breaking Magnus Carlsen’s record.  He is a 3-time U.S. Chess Champion, 3-time Philippine Chess Champion, and the 1st  World Fischer Random Chess Champion.

Career Scorecard:

Games played - 3834 - (W-D-L | 40%-43%-17%)

Games Played as White - 1931 - (W-D-L | 46%-40%-14%)

Games Played as Black - 1903 - (W-D-L | 34%-46%-20%)

World Championship Cycle Appearances: 

FIDE World Cups - 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023

National Championships:

Philippine Chess Championship Wins - 2007 (Junior Division), 2009, 2010, 2011 

US Chess Championship Wins - 2017, 2020, 2021

Olympiad Medals:

1. World Youth U16 Olympiad, Singapore 2007 →  Individual - Gold | Team - Bronze

2. World Youth U16 Olympiad, Mersin 2008 →  Individual - Gold | Team - Bronze

3. Asian Games, Guangzhou 2010 → Team -Silver

4. Olympiad, Baku 2016  →  Individual - Gold | Team - Gold

Tournaments Won:

1. 2015 Bilbao Chess Masters

2. 2016 Sinquefield Cup & London Chess Classic (Grand Chess Tour title)

3. 2017 Tata Steel Masters

4. 2019 FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship

5. 2021 Grand Chess Tour

6. 2022 Chess.com Global Championship

Memorable Games: [2-3 most notable performances]

Fischer Random World Championship Final vs Magnus Carlsen (Nov 2, 2019): So crushed Carlsen 13.5–2.5 to become the first official World Fischer Random Champion, going undefeated throughout

Wesley So (2411) vs. Michael Prusikin (2560) - At the Bad Wiessee tournament, a 13-year-old Wesley So (rated 2411) faced GM Michael Prusikin, where So steered the game with constant pressure building, which led to Prusikin resigning after move 30 

Classical Debut Win vs Magnus Carlsen, Altibox Norway Chess (June 4, 2018): Achieved his first-ever classical victory over Carlsen, shaking up the standings at the Norway Chess tournament.