Filipino grandmaster Wesley won the first edition of the Clutch Chess Champions Showdown, organized by the Saint Louis Chess Club, last Friday in Missouri.
So won on a better tiebreak after he and Fabiano Caruana scored nine points each in their 12-game encounter.
But So clinched the title after getting two wins to Caruana's one in the tiebreaker, earning him $40,000 or P2.01 million for his effort.
After So levelled the score in game 10, he went on to secure the tournament victory in the first "clutch game" of the day.
In Game 11, So outplayed Caruana on position and got the upperhand when he placed both his rooks on the second rank, putting him ahead after their scores were even at 9-all.
“I’ve had the opportunity to play some of the strongest players, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana, in this new tournament,” said So.
Caruana took game 12. only to learn later that So had already secured the tournament victory.
He went home with $3000.
Clutch Chess is a new online competition that was created “to make a multi-game match more dynamic by awarding two points for wins achieved at the halfway point."
