Grandmaster Wesley So struck heavily in the blitz event to rule the Paris Rapid & Blitz tournament
The Cavite-born So tallied 24.5 points in the five-day event – 12.5 points in the double-round blitz and 12 points in the rapid round of the event that attracted 10 players.
So emerged undefeated on the final day of the blitz event, toppling Alireza Firouzja, Vladimir Kramnik, Levon Aronian and Ian Nepomniachtchi to prevail in the second stage of the Grand Chess Tour (GCT).
The former member of the PH team was so dominant he practically won the event with still a round left.
For his feat, So collected 13 GCT points for 21.3 total points, thus overtaking
Azerbaijani GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.
Mamedyarov was stuck with 13 points after opting to skip the event.
So stands to pocket the handsome top purse of $37,500 (roughly P1.8 million). He also won $45,000 as runner up in Romania.
With his stellar showing, So improved to third in the live blitz rating behind Hikaru Nakamura and world champion Magnus Carlsen.
The next leg will be the Croatia Grand Chess Tour Rapid & Blitz on July 5 to 12 in Zagreb.
