Wesley So

Wesley Barbasa So (born October 9, 1993 in Bacoor, Philippines) is a Filipino chess grandmaster representing the United States. So is a former chess prodigy.

In October 2008, he became the youngest player to pass 2600 Elo rating, breaking the record held by Magnus Carlsen. This record was later broken by the Chinese prodigy Wei Yi.

In early 2013, So passed the "elite" 2700 rating and in February 2015 he entered the World top 10 after tying for second place at the 2015 Tata Steel Chess Tournament.

So won Group C in the 2009 edition of the Corus Chess Tournament and is a three-time Philippines Chess Champion. In November 2015, he won the Bilbao Chess Masters Final tournament.

Early years

So was born in Bacoor, Cavite in 1993 to William and Eleanor So, both accountants. So attended the Jesus Good Shepherd School and went on to St. Francis of Assisi College in Bacoor.

He was aged six when his father taught him to play chess and nine when he began competing in junior tournaments.

As a junior player, So won the Philippines U-10s Championship in 2003. He also competed in various sections of World Youth Chess Championships, finishing 19th in the U-10s in 2003, 13th in the U-12s in 2004 and fourth place in the U-12s in 2005. He also took part in the ASEAN Open U-10s in 2004, securing individual golds in the standard and rapid sections along with team silver medals in the standard and rapid along with winning individual golds in the standard, rapid and blitz sections in the U-12s in 2005.