Grandmaster Wesley So will have a chance for a repeat victory over world champion Magnus Carlsen as they were two of the 12 invited to the elite Airthings Masters, the second leg of the Champions Chess Tour set Dec. 26 to Jan. 3, 2021.
The 27-year-old So stunned Carlsen in the Skilling Open early this month and they will be in collision course again in this tournament staking US$200,000 or P10 million.
The two-time United States champion will also get to face Hikaru Nakamura, who bested the former in the semifinals of the 2020 Speed Chess Championship a week back.
According to championschesstour.com, also expected to give the Cavite-born So and Carlsen a run for their money are Dutch Anish Giri, Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi, Armenian Levon Aronian, three-time world blitz king Alexander Grischuk and former world rapid champions Daniil Dubov, Alexander Grischuk.
Last year’s World Cup titlist Teimour Radjabov, Indian Pentala Harikrishna, Spanish David Anton Guijarro and French Maxime Vachier Lagrave are also competing in the event.
The season will culminate in a final tournament to name the world’s best chess player and win a prize fund of $1.5 million.