Grandmaster Wesley So absorbed a beating at the hands of world champion Magnus Carlsen to end up fourth in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Magnus Invitational Monday, March 22.
The 27-year-old So bowed in the first set, 3-1, then received a 2-1 setback in the other in their battle for third place in the tournament topped by Anish Giri of the Netherlands.
Giri, who beat So in their semifinal duel, needed two playoff blitz games to turn back Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi, a semis winner over Carlsen, to clinch the title and the top purse worth $60,000.
Despite the result, So remained atop the tour leaderboard with 140 points and $85,000 earnings that mostly came from his two triumphs against Carlsen in the Skilling Open late last year and the Opera Euro Rapid a month back.
Carlsen jumped to No. 2 from No. 3 with 135 points, nudging Teimour Radjabov after the Azerbaijan bet failed to make the quarterfinals.
Radjabov slipped to No. 3.
Giri zoomed to No. 4, thanks to his recent feat, while Nepomniachtchi leapt to No. 5.