Grandmaster Wesley So fell short in his bid to capture the 2023 Champions Chess Tour Finals trophy after yielding to world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in the second set of their finals series in Toronto, Canada recently.

So failed to recover from a 2.5-1.5 defeat in the first set and bowed to a similar score to the former world champion to settle for the runner-up honors in the $500,000 event.

Playing with the white pieces, So lost the opening game before the Cavite-born American won the second in a rollercoaster time scramble after 60 moves.

Game three ended with a solid draw to arrange a nail-biting Game 4 thriller that started as a super-solid Semi-Tarrasch Variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined, the kind of position that Carlsen thrives in -- and he eventually did.

It was Carlsen’s third title, pocketing the $200,000 top purse. He also ruled the Airthings Masters, Aimchess Rapid and the Julius Baer Generation Cup in this year’s Champions Chess Tour season.

“I’m very, very happy with the way the event ended. the very last game, cause for me it sort of comes full circle,” said Carlsen, who earned an additional $8,000 for winning eight matches in total.

So, meanwhile, was gracious in defeat.

“Really disappointed with the way I played (today). It’s not how I wanted to end. Big congrats to Magnus Carlsen, do you ever lose?” So wrote on social media afterwards.

So went home with the $100,000 (around P5.5 million) runner-up purse.