Wesley So

Wesley So is a three-time U.S. Champion (2017, 2020, 2021) and two-time Grand Chess Tour Champion (2016, 2021). Originally from the Philippines, So transferred federations to the U.S. in 2013, representing the United States in multiple Olympiads since. He won both team and individual gold in the Baku Olympiad (2016) and also earned team silver medals in the Batumi (2018) and Budapest (2024) Olympiads. He was especially clutch in the latter with wins against world top ten rated players in the last two rounds.

Currently the 7th highest rated player in the world at 2756, So has been ranked as high as number two. His peak FIDE rating of 2822 places him fifth all time. In 2019. So defeated Magnus Carlsen in the inaugural FIDE Fischer Random World Championship in the final with a staggering score of 13.5 to Carlsen’s 2.5, becoming the first official World Champion of Chess 960.