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Chess: After US Championship win, Wesley So will only get stronger

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/04/11/wesley-so-2017-041117.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">It&#x27;s only a matter of time before Wesley So, 23, clinches the world No. 1 ranking, one chess expert says. <cite>Courtesy of USChessChamps.com</cite></div></figcaption></figure></div><p>Wesley So captured the US Chess Championship, defeating Alexander Onischuk 1.5-0.5 in a playoff in St. Louis, Missouri on Monday.</p><p>So, 23, went undefeated in the 11-round tournament proper, but ended up tied with Onischuk atop the standings with 7.0 points.</p><p>During the extra session, the Bacoor, Cavite-born grandmaster solidified his stature as one of the best in the world, dominating the 1st rapid match using white pieces and coming from behind on black to force a draw in the 2nd and seal the title.</p><p>&quot;I really wanted to win this one this year . . . because it&#x27;s the strongest national competition in the world,&quot; So <a href="http://www.startribune.com/minnetonka-grandmaster-is-new-u-s-chess-champion/419081784/" target="_blank">told</a> the Star Tribune. &quot;All the great (US) players have won this one.&quot;</p><p>Besides Onischuk, the 2006 US champion who is 18 years So&#x27;s senior, former winners Gata Kamsky, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana participated in the tournament held at Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.</p><p>So defeated Onischuk in their 1st meeting and halved the point with the other 3. He took home $50,000 for winning the championship.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USChessChamps?src=hash">#USChessChamps</a> Congratulations to Wesley So the new champion after today&#x27;s play-off vs Onischuk <a href="https://t.co/cHVC0BOAcX">https://t.co/cHVC0BOAcX</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/chess?src=hash">#chess</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/schach?src=hash">#schach</a> <a href="https://t.co/bB9QtPEJsq">pic.twitter.com/bB9QtPEJsq</a></p>— Carsten Hansen (@CazHansen) <a href="https://twitter.com/CazHansen/status/851671911818043392">April 11, 2017</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">.<a href="https://twitter.com/CCSCSL">@CCSCSL</a> Wesly So, has been crowned the 2017 US Chess Champion. A rather cheeky T by Mr. So.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USChessChamps?src=hash">#USChessChamps</a> <a href="https://t.co/rCJH0xHJid">pic.twitter.com/rCJH0xHJid</a></p>— Toast Dispatch (@ToastDispatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/ToastDispatch/status/851552168624652288">April 10, 2017</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><p>Joey Villar, chess insider for the Philippine Star, said So made winning look easy against a veteran field. </p><p>&quot;For him to top that event, it&#x27;s impressive,&quot; Villar said, &quot;He is unbeatable right now.&quot;</p><p>Grandmaster Maurice Ashley told the Star Tribune: &quot;(So is) very hard to beat, very levelheaded, very practical, and he&#x27;s growing in front of us. Imagine how strong he&#x27;s going to be in two years.&quot;</p><p>Tested in various top-notch competitions, So, currently No. 2 in the world, is setting his sights on the top ranking, now held by Norway&#x27;s Magnus Carlsen, whom So defeated at last year&#x27;s Grand Chess Tour in Paris.</p><p>Villar said it&#x27;s only a matter of time before So replaces Carlsen at the summit.</p><p>&quot;He has beaten practically everybody and won almost every tournament he participated in,&quot; Villar said.</p><p>&quot;The only thing stopping him from becoming a world champion is if he decides to change sport or the world ends today.&quot;</p><p>For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/" target="_blank">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.</p>

<p>Wesley So captured the US Championship, defeating Alexander Onischuk 1.5-0.5 in a playoff in St. Louis, Missouri on Monday.</p>

Wesley So captured the US Championship, defeating Alexander Onischuk 1.5-0.5 in a playoff in St. Louis, Missouri on Monday.