Wesley So has decisively won his first semifinals match and is moving closer to a finals berth at the FIDE Grand Prix Berlin.
The Filipino-born United States Chess Champion converted his whiteboard advantage into a full point against Grandmaster Amin Tabatabaei of Iran on March 30 (March 31 Manila time) to take the lead in the two-game semifinals series.
So will again face Tabatabaei who will take the white chess pieces in Game 2 of the semis on March 31.
Winning the semifinals would send the three-time and reigning United States Chess Champion to the FIDE Grand Prix Berlin finals against the winner of the semifinal matches between American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura (Group A winner) Azerbaijani Grandmaster Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Group B winner) who drew their first semis game.
So advanced to the semis of the third leg of the tournament after being declared the winner of Group C where he defeated his fellow American opponent Sam Shankland in the tiebreaker match. Tabatabaei is the winner of Group D.
Check out Wesley So and Amin Tabatabaei doing a post-mortem analysis of the first semis game.
Post mortem analysis! #FIDEGrandPrix pic.twitter.com/VqRtVoUzyi
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) March 30, 2022
The FIDE Grand Prix 2022 is a series of three chess tournaments and the final qualifier for the Candidates Tournament. Berlin is the third and final leg of the series.
Twenty-four of the world’s top players took part in the Series organized by World Chess.
The top two finishers have already been determined by the points system from the first leg to the current leg – Hikaru Nakamura and Richard Rapport will go on to the Candidates Tournament 2022 to determine who will face World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen for the World Chess Championship 2023.
Wesley So was the leading challenger to World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway during the 2021 Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. The 28-year-old Philippine chess champion is the inaugural and current World Fischer Random Chess Champion who bested Carlsen in his home turf, Norway.
SEND WELL WISHES in the comments below to Wesley So as he vies to sweep his semifinal matches to earn a finals berth in the FIDE Grand Prix Berlin 2022!
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