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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Wesley So beats Levon Aronian, captures American Cup title

Wesley So beats Levon Aronian, captures American Cup title

Published Mar 12, 2026 02:08 pm

At A Glance

  • The Cavite-born So won their first game after 42 moves of an Italian Opening, before holding the necessary draw in Game 2 to secure the match victory.
Wesley So, left, against Levon Aronian. (Saint Louis Chess Club)
Wesley So, left, against Levon Aronian. (Saint Louis Chess Club)
Grandmaster Wesley So captured his maiden title in the 2026 American Cup after edging fellow American Levon Aronian, 1.5-0.5 in the two-game grand finals on Wednesday, March 11 (Thursday, March 12, Philippine time) in Saint Louis, Missouri.
The Cavite-born So won their first game after 42 moves of an Italian Opening, before holding the necessary draw in Game 2 to secure the match victory.
The triumph earned So a $90,000 cash purse, including $15,000 bracket bonus.
“It doesn’t happen often that I win a big tournament, so it’s really unbelievable,” So told chess.com.
Prior to his victory over Aronian, So defeated GM Fabiano Caruana in the final, GM Sam Sevian in the semifinal, and GM Ray Robson in the quarterfinal, all with identical 2.51-1.5 scores.
It was also So’s second tournament victory of the year after winning the 2026 Tata Steel Chess India Open Blitz in January.
Up next for So will be the Grenke Chess Festival 2026.
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