GM Wesley So takes solo lead at Saint Louis tournament

Grandmaster Wesley So scored 2.5 points in the last three rounds, including two wins over Armenian Levon Aronian and Indian Pentala Harikrishna to take the solo lead after the fast side of the 2020 Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament on Thursday.

The 26-year-old So overcame a one-point deficit to reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen entering Day 3 and snatched the lead with 13 points, one point ahead of the latter.

So he hopes to hold onto the lead when the 18-game blitz side of this $ 250,000 ($ 12.5 million) tournament takes place on Friday and Saturday.

Thus he finished undefeated in the rapid with four wins and five draws.

His other victories came at the expense of fellow Americans Jeffrey Xiong and Leinier Domínguez Pérez.

He drew with Carlsen, the American Hikaru Nakamura, the Iranian Alireza Firouzja, and the Russians Alexander Grischuk and Ian Nepomiachtchi.

A victory in the rapid represents two points and a draw one point, while a victory in the blitz is worth one point and a tie half a point.

He also intends to improve to a fifth place in the Fischer-Rapid event of this same inclination where he squandered his chance to finish first after a painful loss to the crafty Firouzja.

Carlsen, the world champion in standard, fast and blitz, led that one.