Wesley So dominated North American Open
Dec 31, 2014
Grandmaster Wesley So has won another strong tournament in Las Vegas, by claiming the top section of the 24th Annual North American Open that was held from 26-30th December at Bally’s Casino Resort.
Wesley So competed the race with 8,0/9 points to earn 9700 USD top prize. In October he won the inaugural Millionaire Chess Open, also in Las Vegas.
Grandmasters Xiangzhi Bu 2691 CHN, Julio J Becerra 2546 FL, Alex Yermolinsky 2519 SD and Vladimir Georgiev 2517 MKD shared the second place with 6,5/9 points each, quite some distance behind the winner. They earned 2300 USD apiece.
Atulya Shetty, Alexander Kretchetov and Safal Bora have scored IM norms, while Ramya Krishna Inapuri achieved a WIM norm.
The 24th North American Open had 7 sections: Open, Under 2300, Under 2100, Under 1900, Under 1700, Under 1500 and Under 1250. The total prize fund was slightly under 120,000 USD.
Open section final standings:
1. GM Wesley So 2762 MN – 8,0
2-5. GM Xiangzhi Bu 2691 CHN, GM Julio J Becerra 2546 FL, GM Alex Yermolinsky 2519 SD and GM Vladimir Georgiev 2517 MKD – 6,5
6-16. GM Sergey Erenburg 2601 VA, GM Jianchao Zhou 2587 CHN, GM Maxim Dlugy 2494 NY, IM Akshat Chandra 2489 NJ, GM Nikola Mitkov 2482 MKD, IM Chen Wang 2473 CHN, GM Enrico M Sevillano 2465 CA, WGM Qian Huang 2464 CHN, IM Roman Yankovsky 2436 RUS, FM Safal Bora 2379 MI and IM Joshua Ruiz 2377 COL – 6,0
17-26. GM Tsegme Batchuluun 2525 MGL, IM Yang Shen 2475 CHN, IM Andres Gallego 2411 COL, FM Daniel Gurevich 2365 GA, IM Ryosuke Nanjo 2348 JPN, FM Kostya Kavutskiy 2332 CA, FM Atulya Shetty 2307 MI, FM Awonder Liang 2266 WI, FM Alexander Kretchetov 2234 RUS and Joshua Colas 2220 NY – 5,5 etc (95 players)
Thanks to Lotis Key, Wesley will be a world champion. Praise to God.
We in Minnesota chess community, are proud of him and Congratulate him for his latest triumph. We are 100% behind him!
Wesley owes all his success to Lotis Key, the smartest and kindest person on earth. Wesley’s career is in good hands. Hallelujah!
I’m pretty sure wesley loves minnesota and its people as well.
Wesley could never reach the top 10 without the help of Lotis Key. She’s great. Leave her and Wesley alone. We should all be thankful of everything Lotis has done for the So family.
All Filipinos should support Lotis Key and Wesley So. This is the winning team.
Who’s Lotis Key?
Thank you Lotis. Everyone is indebted to your kindness. Power to you.
Wesley is the biggest chess genius ever. Thanks to Lotis Key, he’ll be a world champion.
He’s in good hands. Thanks God.
Enough of this Lotis Key BS already!!!
It’s not funny anymore.
Does Wesley’s parents approve of Lotis Key? I don’t get that feeling reading the interview with Wesley’s Mom on Chessdom. Have they met? Do they even know each other? There are many unanswered questions and sooner or later, they will come out.
Thank you Lotis for everything you have done for Wesley So. You’re the greatest.
Lotis Key and Wesley So. The winning team
Is Wesley So now managed by Lotis Key?
Lotis’ daughter and Wes kind of looks like a couple in some photos.
Great manager Lotis Key
Under Lotis Key guidance, Wesley So will become world champion