United States Chess Champions, Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura clashed in an electrifying first-round match of the 2023 Norway Chess tournament. The thrilling Armageddon game that followed their classical game draw was reminiscent of a tense boxing match, with chess pieces flying off the board.
Ranked World No. 8, Wesley So avenged his defeat from their last encounter at the American Cup finals last March, securing a revenge win against World No. 5 Hikaru Nakamura. The Filipino American Chess.com Global Champion played white pieces in the tiebreak showdown, eventually winning the high-stakes game in the early hours of May 31st Philippine Standard Time (May 30 PT CEST) in Stavanger, Norway.
Wesley’s triumph earned him 1.5 tour points, placing him in joint second place with Anish Giri of The Netherlands and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan in the 10-player single round-robin tournament of the Norway Chess event.
Wesley So's Round 1 victory in #NorwayChess earned the Filipino American 1.5 tour points and a joint 2nd place standing pic.twitter.com/S7pbP5qofM
— Angie Quadra-Balibay (@AngieQBalibay) May 31, 2023
As the tournament continues, all eyes are now fixed on the next round where Wesley So, who started his career in the Philippines, is set to face off against World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen. The much-anticipated showdown is slated for May 31st, with So playing black pieces.
The pair have previously traded wins in various super-tournaments, including the inaugural World Fischer Random Championship held in 2019 in Carlsen’s home turf, Norway, where Wesley emerged victorious against the Norwegian.
The stakes for this match are particularly high as five-time Norway Chess Champion Carlsen is coming off a surprising Round 1 loss to Italian-American Fabiano Caruana, placing him in the bottom two of the 10-man field of elite chess players.
Will Wesley So score another upset win against the former World Champion? This exciting matchup in the Norway Chess tournament is one to watch closely.
Norway Chess continues on Wednesday, May 31, starting at 8 a.m. PT/17:00 CEST/ 11 p.m. Philippine Standard Time. Tune in to the live stream on Chess.com YouTube channels for the gripping developments from this grand showdown.
WATCH the thrilling last minute of the chess match between Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura here:
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