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Wesley So
Biography
Wesley So was born on 9 October 1993 in Bacoor, Philippines, to Filipino-Chinese parents, and became his country's youngest grandmaster in 2008 at age 14. As a teenager he was already a three-time Philippine national champion (2010, 2011, 2013) and a Chess Olympiad regular for the Philippine team, debuting at Turin 2006 at just 12 years old. A scholarship to Webster University in 2012 brought him to the United States, and in November 2014 he switched federations to represent the U.S., citing his family's move and a desire to build his career and studies there; he became a U.S. citizen in February 2021.
So's rating peaked at 2822 in February 2017, when he ranked world No. 2, on the back of one of the most dominant stretches in modern chess: he won the 2015 Bilbao Masters, then swept the 2016 Grand Chess Tour outright with victories at the Sinquefield Cup and London Chess Classic while going the entire year unbeaten. At the 2016 Olympiad in Baku he anchored the U.S. team on board 3, scoring 8.5/10 to help the Americans win their first Olympiad gold since 1976, and the following January he topped the 2017 Tata Steel Masters a full point clear of Magnus Carlsen.
So has since won the U.S. Chess Championship three times (2017, 2020, 2021) and, in 2019, became the first official FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Champion, defeating Carlsen 13.5–2.5 in the final held in Bærum, Norway. He remains a fixture of the elite circuit into his thirties, taking the 2021 Grand Chess Tour and a second Sinquefield Cup title in 2025 via blitz tiebreak.
Key achievements
- World Fischer Random Chess Champion, 2019 (defeated Magnus Carlsen 13.5–2.5 in the final)
- Won the 2016 Grand Chess Tour with victories at the Sinquefield Cup and London Chess Classic
- Won the 2017 Tata Steel Masters ahead of Magnus Carlsen
- Three-time United States Chess Champion: 2017, 2020, 2021
- Board 3 gold (team & individual) at the 2016 Baku Olympiad; won the 2021 Grand Chess Tour and the 2025 Sinquefield Cup
Ratings
| Date | Milestone | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Awarded the grandmaster title (age 14) | — |
| Nov 2014 | Switched federations from the Philippines to the USA | — |
| Feb 2017 | Career-peak rating, world No. 2 | 2822 |
| Sep 2026 | Current rating — world No. 5 | 2774 |
Titles
| Title | Years | Count |
|---|---|---|
| GM | Grandmaster, awarded 2008 | — |
| Philippine Ch. | 2010, 2011, 2013 | 3× |
| US Ch. | 2017, 2020, 2021 | 3× |
| Fischer Random World Ch. | 2019 — inaugural official champion | 1× |
Classical Tournaments
| Year | Tournament | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Bilbao Chess Masters Final | 1st |
| 2016 | Sinquefield Cup | 1st |
| 2016 | London Chess Classic & Grand Chess Tour overall | 1st |
| 2017 | Tata Steel Masters | 1st |
| 2017 | U.S. Chess Championship | 1st |
| 2020 | U.S. Chess Championship | 1st |
| 2021 | U.S. Chess Championship | 1st |
| 2021 | Grand Chess Tour overall | 1st |
| 2025 | Sinquefield Cup — won in blitz playoff over Caruana & Praggnanandhaa | 1st |
Team Events
| Year | Event (Federation) | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Chess Olympiad, Turin (Philippines) | 3/5 |
| 2008 | Chess Olympiad, Dresden (Philippines) | 7/10 |
| 2010 | Chess Olympiad, Khanty-Mansiysk (Philippines) | 6½/10 |
| 2012 | Chess Olympiad, Istanbul (Philippines) | 6½/11 |
| 2016 | Chess Olympiad, Baku (USA) — board 3, team & individual gold | 8½/10 |
| 2024 | Chess Olympiad, Budapest (USA) — team silver | — |
Source: OlimpBase (olimpbase.org) individual Olympiad records, cross-checked with Wikipedia and Chess.com/US Chess coverage.
Read more on Wikipedia or view his FIDE profile.