So breaches Top 20 in world chess ratings

MANILA, Philippines - Grandmaster Wesley So edged closer to his goal of breaching the 2750-rating mark.

Counting his perfect six-of-six effort in last December’s Pan American Games where he led Wesbter U to the championship and his first three games in the ongoing Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands, So has gained a whopping 15.3 rating points that sent him into the Top 20 in the world.

The second youngest GM  in the elite Top 30 in the world, So now has a rating of 2734.4 for No. 20 and closer to his goal of reaching the 2750 mark this year.

“One game at a time,” said So, who took a much-needed rest after arriving Saturday morning just in time for the opening round after a 32-hour flight from St. Louis in the US where he is based.

Tired and weary, So still came out strong and beat Hungarian Richard Rapport in the first round before settling for draws in his next two games, against second seed and World No. 3 Hikaru Nakamura of the US and German Arkadij Naiditsch.