Nearly four years after making history in Norway, Filipino American chess Grandmaster Wesley So is aiming to recreate his remarkable achievement on Norwegian soil this time on the Norway Chess stage.
So cemented his legacy by defeating World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in the inaugural Fischer Random Chess Championship, held in Norway in 2019. This year, Wesley, the current Grand Chess Tour leader, returns to the very country where his triumph resounded across the global chess community.
Coming off a strong top 5 finish in the 2023 Norway Chess Blitz event, which he won in 2022, Wesley So now finds himself among an elite group of chess grandmasters in Stavanger for the 9-round main Norway Chess tournament from May 30 to June 10, 2023.
The roster of elite players competing alongside Wesley So (Filipino- American) includes the prodigious Magnus Carlsen (Norwegian), the young titan Alireza Firouzja (Iranian-French), the strategic Anish Giri (Dutch), the blitz expert Hikaru Nakamura (American), the formidable Fabiano Caruana (Italian-American), the tactical Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijani), the dynamic Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbek), chess prodigy Gukesh D (Indian), and Norway’s 2nd-ranked champion, Aryan Tari.
In the Blitz tournament, Wesley secured 2 wins, 6 draws, and suffered 1 loss. This result has set him up well in the top 5 as the Main Classical Chess games kick off on May 30. The Blitz tournament victor selects their pairing number for the classical portion of the event, with the other players selecting theirs based on their final Blitz standings.
The 2023 Norway Chess tournament boasts a considerable prize fund of kr$2,500,000, approximately $234,000. Taking place in the picturesque city of Stavanger, the tournament features a blitz event that precedes the classical one, with final standings in the blitz determining the players’ seeds for the classical event.
The tournament’s unique classical tiebreak system, which includes a series of blitz playoff matches and possibly an armageddon game, adds a thrilling twist to the competition.
As Wesley So makes his return to Norway, the stage of his historical feat in 2019, the chess world waits in anticipation. Can the Filipino-American grandmaster, who once outmaneuvered World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen on his home turf, repeat his victory?
The narrative of Wesley So’s Norwegian saga continues, and every move promises to be a page-turner.
Wishing Wesley So all the best at the Norway Chess! Classical chess games start today @GMWesleySo123 #NorwayChess https://t.co/VvhID65pqM
— GoodNewsPilipinas.com (@GoodNewsPinas_) May 30, 2023
As the chess world converges on Norway, fans worldwide can join in and watch the Norway Chess main event live onsite and on the live stream. It starts at 11 P.M. Philippine Standard Time (8 a.m. PT/17:00 CEST) on the Chess.com YouTube channel here:
SEND WELL WISHES in the comments below to Wesley So as he vies for the Norway Chess championship!
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