So trounces Anand, ties for fourth
Wesley So downed former world champion Viswanathan Anand of India Monday night to finish in the upper half of the London Chess Classic won by Fabiano Caruana.
Counting his eight straight draws earlier, So finished with 5.0 points in a tie with world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, a full point behind Caruana and second placer Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia.
When the tiebreak was applied, Carlsen took third while Vachier-Lagrave and So shared fourth place.
Caruana, who’s representing the USA like the Cavite-born So, bested Nepomniachtchi in the second blitz game of their title playoffs.
In winning their Guioco Piano encounter, So, who handled black, handed Anand, world champion from 2000 to 2002, 2007 to 2008 and 2010 to 2012, a bitter 48th birthday gift.
Despite his third place finish in the event serving as the concluding leg of the Grand Chess Tour, Carlsen still emerged the overall champion. —ROY LUARCA
