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Wesley So beats Caruana, advances to semis of Speed Chess Championships

Sports

Wesley So beats Caruana, advances to semis of Speed Chess Championships

By Kristel Satumbaga-Villar

Grandmaster Wesley So inched closer to another podium finish after advancing to the semifinals of the Speed Chess Championships 2021 over the weekend.

(Photo from the tournament website)

The two-time US champion outplayed Fabiano Caruana, 17.5-9.5, to forge a semis meeting with teen prodigy Nihal Sarin.

The 17-year-old Indian Grandmaster, who is also a two-time World Youth Chess champion, dominated Hungarian GM Richard Rapport, 18-9.

The other semis pairing pit defending champion American Hikaru Nakamura against Chinese GM Ding Liren.

The top-seeded Nakamura edged Dutch Anish Giri, 18.5-10.5, while Liren knocked out Armenian Levon Aronian, 15-11.

Prior to his semis win, So prevailed over American Jeffrey Xiong, 18-14.

The tournament dangles a US$100,000 total prize fund with the champion earning $10,000.

The event also follows a format of five blitz matches in 90 minutes, three blitz duels in 60 minutes and one bullet match in 30 minutes, all with one-second increments.

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Wesley So speed chess championships

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