Wesley So blundered with a one-pawn advantage and succumbed to Amin Tabatabaei of Iran to force another semifinal tiebreaker in the FIDE Grand Prix in Berlin, Germany Thursday.
So lost after 30 moves of a Nimzo-Indian Defense to forge a new set of tiebreak games using rapid time control on Friday.
“My opponent is a great player, fighting, very aggressive, very tactical. And yeah, I just blundered, that’s all I can say about the game. Blunders happen,” said So.
Interestingly, Tabatabei didn’t realize So had blundered until he found the correct move.
“What happened was just crazy. I played 23. Rd1 and I completely blundered 23...Nh4-I thought everything falls apart. And after 24. Rd3, It is so strange that white is completely winning. I was incredibly lucky at that moment,” Tabatabei said in an interview posted on FIDE social media.
The other semis duel between the US’ Hikaru Nakamura and Azerbaijan’s Shakhriyar Mamedyarov likewise ended up tied after the two fought to a second straight draw.