Twin Cities chess grandmaster has high finish in elite tournament

Twin Cities chess grandmaster Wesley So put his troubles behind him and turned in a very strong performance at an elite tournament in Azerbaijan, finishing in third place, behind only the current world champion and the previous world champion.

The result in the tournament that ended Sunday moves So up one notch in the world rankings, to No. 7.

The Gashimov Memorial Tournament came fast on the heels of the U.S. Chess Championship in St. Louis, which ended April 13. So struggled in that tournament because of a forfeit loss in one game after a rare rules violation and because of an unexpected visit from his estranged mother, which he said made it difficult to focus on his chess.

In the Gashimov, So had three wins, two losses and four draws, including a draw with World Champion Magnus Carlsen, who won the tournament. It was the second time the Minnetonka 21-year-old played Carlsen this year, with both games ending in draws.

In a news conference after the final round Sunday, So was harder on himself than were commentators. Though he conceded that he fared better than most in the elite, 10-player field, "generally I made a lot of mistakes and there are a lot of things to improve on," he said.

So's two losses were at the hands of players who are ranked above him on the world list — former world champion Viswanathan Anand and Fabiano Caruana. Both of those players, as well as Carlsen, have grandmaster coaches or seconds who are on their staff and who usually travel with them and help them prepare for their next opponent in a tournament. Because So's rise has been so rapid — and he's only now starting to get invitations to elite tournaments with large prize funds and appearance fees — he has not yet assembled a similar team.

So finished with the same score as Caruana -- 5 points out of 9 -- but edged out Caruana on tie breaks. So earned 15,000 euros, or about $16,250, and likely received an appearance fee in addition to expenses.

Next up for So is participation in the French Team Championships starting at the end of May.

Dennis J. McGrath • 612-673-4293 Twitter: @djmstrib