Filipino teen becomes the World’s Youngest Chess Grandmaster

At 14 years old, Wesley So is the world’s youngest chess grandmaster, and the seventh youngest GM in chess history.

Wesley So is a fine chess prodigy. With a FIDE rating of 2540, he is the highest ranked chess player in the Philippines, only sharing the top spot with legendary Filipino GM Eugene Torre.

Born in Manila on October 9, 1993 to accountants William and Eleanor So, Wesley So was raised in a conservative Filipino family. He was aged 6 when his father taught him to play chess, and aged 9 when he started to compete in junior active chess tournaments. His aggressive style caught the attention of professional chess players, including former Philippine chess champion IM Rodolfo Tan Cardoso. Cardoso remarked, “The young lad… would sacrifice a queen or any other pieces in his arsenal to get a winning attack.” He also noticed that So did not have the full sponsorships enjoyed by the other chess prodigies, saying “He cannot afford a decent training given by well known GM-coaches and has to rely on his pure talent, diligence…before competing.”

In 2006, he became the youngest member (age 12) of the national men’s team to participate at the 37th Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy. Later that year, he became the youngest National Open Chess Champion. In May 2007, he became the youngest National Junior Open Chess Champion. So won the gold medal on board one at the 2007 World Under 16 Team Championship with a score of 9.5/10. Based on the October 2007 FIDE rating list, So was considered to be the world’s strongest chess player in his age group (players born in 1993 and later). With an ELO rating of 2531, he ranks ahead of Chinese WGM Hou Yifan (born 1994, ELO 2502) and Indian GM Parimarjan Negi (born 1993, ELO 2514).

So achieved his final Grandmaster norm on December 8, 2007 at the 3rd Pichay Cup International Open, emerging as the youngest Filipino GM at the age of 14. He also became the 7th youngest to achieve the GM title in chess history, narrowly beating French GM Etienne Bacrot by a few days. On April 2008, his rating of 2540 makes him the highest ranked chess player in the Philippines, slightly ahead of famous Filipino GMs Mark Paragua, Bong Villamayor, Nelson Mariano and Darwin Laylo.

Recently, So shared the top spot with Filipino GM Eugene Torre in the Philippines’ “Battle of GMs” last April 19-30, 2008. He also won the title in the $45,000 Dubai Open Chess Championships, “The Sheikh Rashed Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Cup”, at the Dubai Chess Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He finished with 7.0 points on 6 wins, one loss and two draws after 9 games. He won a fourth ($4,500) of the combined prize of $18,000.

A seasoned national and international competitor, So has placed 3rd in the Apr 2008 Dubai Open Blitz Tournament; 7th in the 10th Dubai Chess Championship; Champion in the March 2008 Mayor Allen Singson Open Chess Tournament; 4th in the January 2008 “GM Tournament A” ASEAN Masters Chess Circuit in Tarakan, Indonesia; 1st in the December 2007 Fianchetto Realty/Gold Edge Assets Christmas Invitational Tournament; earned his final GM norm and became the 7th youngest GM in chess history in the Pichay Cup International Chess Tournament; 9th in the November 2007 GMA Cup International Chess Tournament; earned his 2nd GM norm in the October 2007 World Junior Chess Championship; 1st in the June 2007 Shell Battle of Champions; 1st in the May 2007 National Juniors Open Chess Championship; tied in 14th place in the 3rd Singapore Masters International Open Singapore; 1st in the Dec 2006 National Open Chess Championship; tied for 6th place in the 1st President GMA Cup International Chess Tournament; tied for 2nd place and earned first GM norm in the 2006 Offene Internationale Bayerische Schaha Meisterschaft in Bad Wiessee, Germany; received the Creativity Award from the Russian website e3e5; Best Under-16 player in the Blitz III Festival de Ajedrez Open Internacionale in Calvia, Spain; awarded International Master title by FIDE in 2006; earned 3rd IM norm in the 3rd IGB Dato Arthur Tan Malaysia Open Chess Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; earned 2nd IM norm and Best Under 16 player in the 2nd San Marino Open Internationale de Scacchi in the San Marino Republic; youngest RP Olympian in the 37th Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy; earned 1st IM norm in the 8th Dubai Open Chess Championship Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamadan Ak Maktoum Cup Dubai in the United Arab Emirates; Best Under 12 and 32nd over-all in the 2005 Masters/Challengers International Open in Singapore; 9th in the 2005 Nice Open International; Equal 1st in the 2005 World Youth Chess Championship in Belfort, France; Gold & Silver Medalist in the 7th Asean Age-Group Chess Championship in Pattaya, Thailand; 13th in the 2004 World Youth Chess Championship in Crete; Gold & Silver Medalist in the 6th Asean Age-Group Chess Championship in Vung Tau, Vietnam; and 19th in the 2003 World Youth Chess Championship in Heraklio, Greece.

Determined to complete his formal education in the midst of an illustrious chess career, Wesley So currently attends school at St. Francis of Assisi College System in Bacoor, Cavite, a province south of Manila.