Does the name Ding ring a bell? You may be excused if you don't quite recall the name, seeing as how GM Ding Liren has been largely missing in action since he defeated Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi in thrilling fashion in Kazakhstan in April to become the first Chinese world chess champion.
Wesley So finishes with 4.5 points to settle for fourth place in the WR Chess Masters. (File Photo)
Wesley So drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan in the ninth and final round to finish fourth in the WR Chess Masters in Dusseldorf, Germany Saturday, Feb. 25.
So split the point in 59 m
Vincent Keymer scored his second win at the WR Chess Masters in round 8, as he defeated Wesley So with the black pieces and left him out of the race for tournament victory. Levon Aronian and Gukesh are sharing the lead on 5/8 points and will face each other in the final round. If they draw and Ian Nepomniachtchi manages to beat Keymer, a three-way play-off will decide the winner of the tournament. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
At the beginning of February FIDE published the new world ranking list. Magnus Carlsen, who continues to be clear number one, lost a few rating points in Wijk, but increased the Elo gap to Ding Liren, who lost even more rating points in Wijk and is now the world's number three while Ian Nepomniachtchi is number two. Hou Yifan is number one on the women's list and Alireza Firouzja remains the world's best junior though his rivals come closer. Best female junior is Bibisara Assaubayeva.
Wesley So settled for a draw with India’s Parham Maghsoodloo to slip to third place after nine rounds of the Tata Steel Chess Masters in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands Tuesday, Jan. 24.
Wesley So's (left) ninth-round draw puts him at solo third with 5.5 points. (Tournament Images)
The 29-year-old S