Published April 25, 2021, 2:29 PM
Wesley So
Grandmaster Wesley So got off to a rough start after absorbing three defeats in his first five games in the New In Chess Classic of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Sunday, April 25.
So yielded to Iran-born Alireza Firouzja, Poland’s Jan-Krzysztof Duda and England’s Gawain Jones but cushioned the impact of his free fall with wins over rising Indian star Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Azerbaijan’s Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.
The painful start put the Fischer Random king and two-time United States champion in a four-way logjam at 11th place with two points, putting him in danger of missing the playoff round for the first time after five legs of this tour.