American GM Wesley So slays it on Valentine’s Day leaving the World Champion heartbroken as one of his own arrows back-fired and drowned him in a mire of blunders.
Following two draws that led to a thrilling final game, a third one sealed the overall victory for So giving him the rare opportunity to beat the Norwegian Chess King twice in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour.
Wesley So had earlier won the opening match – the Skilling Open - of the online chess tour in November 2020 against Magnus Carlsen, “ruining” Carlsen’s 30th birthday that fell on the D-day.
Azerbaijan’s Teimour Radjabov clinched third place playing against the Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, winning twice with white.
Read to know more about Teimour Radjabov’s Azerbaijan
The results of the tournament:
The Finals: Set One:
Magnus Carlsen drew with Wesley So 2-2
Third place: Set One:
Teimour Radjabov beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2.5-1.5.
A Victory So Good!
In the Opera Euro Rapid Finals that commenced on Saturday, the 13th, Magnus Carlsen seemed to have his usual grip as he won the second game with black pieces. Though he succeeded in retaining it following the third draw, Wesley So went on to win the fourth with white pieces.
In the first game, the American missed a strong opening move leading the game to a draw. Carlsen put forth a risky bishop sacrifice, to lead the match into ‘dangerous waters’ - as he claimed later – and that would prove to be his nemesis in the rapid session.
In the second game, he lost an advantage but leveraged those of a distant passed pawn, despite an equally strong rook ending from his opponent and drew the game. He required a win in any of the final two games to bring the match to a tie-break.
The second-day match was reminiscent of their final face-off in the Skilling Open with a tie-break.
Killing it Skillfully: The Skilling Open
When the third game also ended in another draw, So upped his game scoring in the fourth encounter. The champion was, apparently, not at his usual best. Also, he was under pressure to salvage his scores and win the final game.
Magnus “unashamed”; Wesley apologises
The 27 year old Filipino-born American GM, who has managed the double victory over the World Champion in the tournament is now ‘qualified’ enough to be tagged as the world’s best in rapid chess format. Strong in his defense, So had his feet dug firmly in the sand against Carlsen’s panicked attacks. As the World Champion later remarked, he “failed to trust his intuitions”.
He was appreciative of So’s victory commenting that there is “no shame in losing to him” as he played a most convincing game. The remark reveals the heights Wesley So has climbed up in International chess. Upon his initial defeat at the hands of So at the first ever Fischer Random World Championship held in Norway in 2019, Carlsen had remarked that he was “deeply ashamed of himself”. Two more titles in his bag against the World Champion, So deserves the final clap.
In his good humour and ever-humble manner So commented that he is sorry to ruin Carlsen’s Valentine’s Day.
Radjabov v/s Vachier-Lagrave
Teimour Radjabov who was leading the tour prior to the event, defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in two straight games to affirm his third place.
Of the four games, he lost one, and all that he needed was a draw to come third. Though MVL levelled up his game for a tie in the fourth game, a single blunder proved fatal for the top-ranking GM.
The Opera Euro Rapid is the 3rd event on the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. The event had 16 players, who were cut short to eight following an intense 3-day preliminary phase. Teimour Radjabov led the tour and was joined by top players like Ding Liren and Daniil Dubov, Anish Giri among others.
Winding Up
Prior to the event some of the top players were caught in a few surprise sand-drifts that changed rankings and prophecies. World Champion Magnus Carlsen was in for a shock at Wijk aan Zee, losing to Andrey Esipenko in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament while Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, the Candidates Chess Tournament leader, went down from the world ranking #5 to #15 following a disastrous game. As for Dutch no. 1 Anish Giri, defeat came at the hands of his compatriot Jordan van Foreest.
Post Opera Euro Rapid Chess, the next tour event - a “Major” with 12 players – will start on the 3rd of March with a prize pot of $200,000.
Stay tuned for the upcoming chess events with Mind Mentorz. And if what you are looking for is a few clarifications on our chess based cognitive skill development programs for kids in Bengaluru, feel free to call us at 9606847428. We are happy to help!