Super Grandmaster Wesley So raised his live Elo rating to 2750 while climbing to 12th in the world by clinching the ACP Golden Classic crown Sunday.
Assured of the title after the sixth round, the top-seeded So (Elo 2744) opted for a draw with Italian GM Sabino Brunello (Elo 2568) in the seventh and last round to wind up with 4.5 points, a full point ahead of Georgian GM Baadur Jobava in the Category 17 event held in Bergamo, Italy.
Hungarian GM Zoltan Almasi and Israeli GM Emil Sutovsky wound up tied for third place with 3.0 points.
Sustaining the form he showed in winning the Category 19 (average Elo 2713) Capablanca Memorial in May in Cuba, So beat second seed GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (Elo 2730) of Russia in the second round, Daniele Vocaturo in the third and Jobava in the sixth en route to a live rating of 2755 and a performance rating of 2844.
A victory over Brunello would have given the 20-year-old So a 2760 live rating and 11th place world ranking.
The Webster University standout from Bacoor, Cavite, opted not to represent the Philippines in next month’s 41st Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway, but will be present in the biennial meet as coach of Team USA.