Filipino grandmaster Wesley So will battle GM Fabiano Caruana in the semifinals of the 2020 Clutch Chess International tournament.
After So reached the semifinals last Wednesday world no. 1 Magnus Carlsen, Caruana and Levon Aronian followed suit after they repulsed Jeffrey Xiong, Leinier Dominguez and Alexander Grischuk respectively.
The 2773 ELO rated Caruana finished with a 10.5-7.5 score over Dominguez.
Caruana made it after earning three points following a draw in their last two matches of their 12-game encounter.
The 37-year-old Aronian, married to Fil-Australian woodpusher Arianne Caoili who died recently, claimed a decisive win over Grischuk in their final game, 10-8.
In reaching the semis, Caruana and Aronian earned $15,000 each.
The 27-year-old Caruana moved ahead on points after he went for a check with his black queen.
In facing So, Caruana will have a rematch of their previous showdown in the Clutch Chess USA finals
On Wednesday, Carlsen turned back Xiong, 11.5 – 6.5, to arrange the semifinals meeting with Aronian.
So fought off Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, 13-5.
In beating Vachier-Lagrave in 15 moves in their final game of the quarterfinals, So earned all the clutch bonus money, totaling $10,000.
So, playing black blundered with a pawn at endgame, but he still managed to find the winning line after pushing his rook to the queenside.
