kids encyclopedia robot

Wesley So facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Barbossa and the surname or paternal family name is So.
Quick facts for kids
Wesley So
Wesley So in 2023.jpg
So in 2023
Full name Wesley Barbasa So
Country
  • Philippines (until 2014)
  • United States (since 2014)
Born (1993-10-09) October 9, 1993 (age 31)
Bacoor, Cavite, Philippines
Title Grandmaster (2008)
FIDE rating 2770 (August 2025)
Peak rating 2822 (February 2017)
Ranking No. 6 (April 2022)
Peak ranking No. 2 (March 2017)

Wesley Barbossa So (born October 9, 1993) is a famous chess grandmaster. He has played for both the Philippines and the United States. Wesley So has won the U.S. Chess Championship three times. He was also the first ever World Fischer Random Chess Champion.

In March 2017, Wesley So was ranked second in the world. His Elo rating was 2822. This made him one of the highest-rated chess players in history. He enjoys playing chess960, also known as Fischer random chess. In 2019, he won the World Fischer Random Chess Championship. He beat the strong player Magnus Carlsen in the final.

Wesley So was a chess prodigy when he was young. He became the youngest player to reach an Elo rating of 2600 in October 2008. He later reached 2700 in 2013 and 2800 in 2017. He has won many big tournaments. These include the 2015 Bilbao Chess Masters and the 2016 Grand Chess Tour. He also helped the US team win gold at the 42nd Chess Olympiad.

Early Life

Wesley So was born in Bacoor, Philippines, in 1993. His parents are William and Eleanor So. He has two sisters, Wendelle and Wilma. Wesley went to Jesus Good Shepherd School and Saint Francis of Assisi College.

Chess Career

Playing for the Philippines (2003–2014)

Starting in Chess

Wesley So started playing in junior chess tournaments when he was ten. In 2003, he won the Philippine National Chess Championships for players under 10. He also did well in the World Youth Chess Championships. He finished fourth in the Under-12 section in 2005. He won gold medals in the ASEAN Open tournaments too.

Becoming a Top Player

In 2005, Wesley So played in his first big tournament, the Nice International Open. He quickly earned the title of International Master. He became the youngest Filipino to achieve this. In 2006, he played in his first Chess Olympiad in Turin.

Wesley So continued to improve quickly. He earned his first Grandmaster norm in 2006. By December 2007, he became a Grandmaster. He was only 14 years old, making him one of the youngest Grandmasters ever. In 2008, he shared first place at the Dubai Open. He also won the "Battle of Grandmasters tournament" in Manila.

In January 2009, Wesley So won the Corus Group C tournament. This earned him a spot in a higher group for the next year. He also reached the fourth round of the 2009 Chess World Cup. He beat strong players like Vassily Ivanchuk and Gata Kamsky. In 2010, he won his second Philippine Chess Championship.

Wesley So received a scholarship from Webster University in 2012. He studied there for two and a half years. In August 2012, he moved to the United States. He won the Quebec International tournament in September 2012. At the 40th Chess Olympiad, he drew games against many top players.

In 2013, Wesley So reached an Elo rating of 2700. This is considered the level of an elite player. He won a gold medal at the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia. This was the first such medal for the Philippines. In October 2013, he won the Unive Crown Group tournament.

In 2014, Wesley So tied for fourth place at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament Group A. He also won the Capablanca Memorial tournament in Havana. Soon after, he won the ACP Golden Classic tournament in Italy. These wins helped him become one of the top 12 players in the world.

Moving to the United States (2013–2014)

Wesley So decided to play for the United States. He started the process in 2013. He explained that his family had moved to Canada. He also planned to live and study in the United States. He felt this move would help his chess career. He also mentioned disagreements with the Philippine chess federation.

His transfer to the United States Chess Federation was confirmed in November 2014. He then moved to Minnetonka, Minnesota. He lives there with his adoptive parents, Lotis Key and Renato Kabigting.

Playing for the United States (2014–Present)

Wesley So won the Millionaire Chess Tournament in October 2014. In January 2015, he shared second place at the Tata Steel Masters. He won the 2015 Bilbao Chess Masters Final in November 2015. He beat Grandmaster Ding Liren and drew with Anish Giri.

In 2016, Wesley So received the Samford Fellowship. This helped him get Vladimir Tukmakov as his coach. In August 2016, he won the Sinquefield Cup. He finished ahead of former World Champions. In December 2016, he also won the London Chess Classic. By winning these events, he won the 2016 Grand Chess Tour. He also won individual and team gold medals at the 42nd Chess Olympiad for the United States.

In January 2017, Wesley So won the Tata Steel Masters. He finished ahead of World Champion Magnus Carlsen. This made him the World No. 3 player. He also won the 2017 U.S. Chess Championship. He had an amazing streak of 67 games without a loss. This streak ended in April 2017.

Caruana - Wesley So, Candidates Tournament 2018
So at the 2018 Candidates Tournament.

In September 2017, Wesley So reached the semi-finals of the World Cup. He qualified for the 2018 Candidates Tournament. In May 2018, he played in Norway Chess. He achieved his first classical game victory against Magnus Carlsen there.

First Fischer Random World Champion

On November 2, 2019, Wesley So became the first ever Fischer Random World Champion. He beat the classical World Champion Magnus Carlsen with a score of 13.5 to 2.5. He had also won his semifinal match against Ian Nepomniachtchi. Many people were very impressed by his dominant performance.

Recent Achievements (2020–Present)

On September 19, 2020, Wesley So tied for first place in the 2020 St. Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament. On October 1, 2020, his team, the Saint Louis Arch Bishops, won the 2020 Professional Rapid Online Chess League. This was their third title. Wesley So was named the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the season.

On October 29, 2020, Wesley So won the US Championship again. He scored 9 out of 11 points. His unbeaten performance was compared to the great Bobby Fischer's dominant wins. On November 30, 2020, Wesley So defeated Magnus Carlsen to win the Skilling Open championship. This was the first event of the Champions Chess Tour.

On February 14, 2021, Wesley So beat Magnus Carlsen again to win the Opera Euro Rapid. This was his second victory in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. On August 27, 2021, he won the 2021 Grand Chess Tour. He was a runner-up in some events and won the Paris Rapid & Blitz.

On October 19, 2021, Wesley So won the US Championship for the third time. He won after tiebreaks against Fabiano Caruana and Samuel Sevian. In 2022, he played in the FIDE Grand Prix 2022. He won the third leg of the Grand Prix. In November 2022, he won the first-ever Chess.com Global Championship. He beat Hikaru Nakamura and Nihal Sarin to win $200,000.

Team Results

Wesley So has played in five Chess Olympiads. He first played for the Philippines in 2006 when he was 12. Since 2016, he has played for the United States.

Event Board Individual result Team result
Olympiad, Turin 2006 Second Reserve 3/5 44th
World Youth U16 Olympiad, Singapore 2007 First 9½/10 (Gold) Bronze
World Youth U16 Olympiad, Mersin 2008 First 9/10 (Gold) Bronze
Olympiad, Dresden 2008 Second 7/10 (11th) 46th
Olympiad, Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 First 6½/10 (27th) 50th
Asian Games, Guangzhou 2010 First 5/8 Silver
Olympiad, Istanbul 2012 First 6½/11 (16th) 21st
Olympiad, Baku 2016 Third 8½/10 (Gold) Gold

Playing Style

This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

When he was a young player, Wesley So had an aggressive and tactical style. This means he liked to attack and find clever moves. A former Philippine chess champion, International Master Rodolfo Tan Cardoso, noticed this. He said Wesley would sometimes sacrifice pieces to get a winning attack.

In 2009, Wesley So said he wanted to play a more solid game. He felt his style was similar to Vishy Anand's. Over the years, his playing style has become more precise. He now focuses on making fewer mistakes and taking advantage of his opponents' errors.

Wesley So has said his favorite game was his win against Ni Hua in the 2008 Chess Olympiad. This was his first win against a player rated over 2700.

So vs. Prusikin, 2006
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
8 {{{square}}} black rook {{{square}}} black knight {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black rook {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 8
7 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black knight {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 7
6 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black queen {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king 6
5 {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white knight {{{square}}} black pawn 5
4 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 4
3 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} white queen {{{square}}} white knight {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 3
2 {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} white pawn 2
1 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white rook {{{square}}} white rook {{{square}}} white king {{{square}}} black king 1
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
Position after 18...cxd4. White launched a combination with 19.Nxe6

During his tournament win at Bad Wiessee in 2006, Wesley So won an award for a creative game. Here is that game:

So vs. Michael Prusikin
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.f4 a6 8.Nf3 b6 9.Qd2 c5 10.Nd1 0-0 11.c3 f6 12.Bd3 a5 13.0-0 Ba6 14.exf6 Qxf6 15.Ng5 g6 16.Ne3 h5 17.Rae1 Bxd3 18.Qxd3 cxd4 (diagram) 19.Nxe6 Qxe6 20.Nxd5 Qf7 21.Re7 Qf5 22.Qxd4 Nf6 23.Re5 Qd7 24.Qd3 Nxd5 25.Qxg6+ Qg7 26.Qe6+ Qf7 27.Qh6 Qf6 28.Rg5+ Kf7 29.Qh7+ Ke8 30.Rxd5 1–0

Personal Life

Wesley So lives in Excelsior, Minnesota. He lives with Lotis Key, her husband Bambi Kabigting, and their daughter. He considers them his adoptive family. Wesley So became a citizen of the United States in February 2021.

He is an Evangelical Christian. In an article from 2017, he shared that he reads the Bible every night. He also attends church every weekend. In 2025, Chess.com made a documentary about his life. It included interviews with Lotis Key.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Wesley So para niños

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Wesley So Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.