Wesley So gets ChessBase's vote for player of the year, an achievement I'd concur with as well. Still, Magnus Carlsen had a lot of success last in 2016 too, even if it wasn't a banner year by his lofty standards. Interestingly, in the ChessBase piece Carlsen gets kudos for the game of the year, the endgame of the year, and the move of the year. Not bad at all!