By REYNALD MAGALLON
Grandmaster Wesley So settled for second overall at the Norway Chess 2026 tournament in Oslo but not after making waves for defeating world No.1 Magnus Carlsen and then overcoming French star Alirez Firouzja in the last round.
Despite the impressive run, the Cavite-born So only finished second after coming in one point shy of India’s R Praggnanandhaa who ruled the elite double-round-robin event which featured six Super Grandmasters.
So’s bridesmaid finish earned him $37,823 (approximately ₱2.34 million).
He actually defeated Praggnanandhaa in round 6 but the Indian prodigy bounced back with classic victories over Firouzja, Carlsen, reigning world champion Gukesh D, and Germany’s Vincent Keymer to secure the championship.
So’s campaign began with an opening-round loss to Praggnanandhaa (1.5-1.0) but was followed by victories over Gukesh (1.5-1.0), Keymer (1.5-1.0), Firouzja(3-0), Carlsen(3-0), and a revenge win against Praggnanandhaa (3-0).
He later suffered a setback against Gukesh (1.0-1.5) before closing strongly with wins over Keymer (1.5-1.0) and Carlsen (1.5-1.0).
With the finish, climbed to world No. 7 with a live Elo rating of 2764.6 while the tournament marked the second time he defeated the Norwegian legend on home soil, having previously dominated him 13.5–2.5 to win the inaugural Fischer Random World Championship in Oslo in 2019.
