So Crushes Duda in First Quarterfinal
Wesley So has done well in previous editions of Chess.com's Speed Chess Championship, but he was not a clear favorite against Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Duda has also performed well, and as he was thought to be a favorite in the bullet portion it was unclear how to assess each side's chances.
An upset looked even more possible when Duda jumped out to a two-point lead, but it all turned on a dime. When So won game 7 to close Duda's lead to a single point, it turned out that it was the beginning of the end. So won game 8 to even the match at the end of the five-minute portion, and then he steamrolled Duda 8-1 in the three-minute to put the match on ice. Duda went +1 in the bullet, but that was nowhere near enough as So won the match 16-10.
The Nakamura-Fedoseev quarterfinal will take place on December 3, and there's still no announcement as to when the Carlsen-Artemiev and Vachier-Lagrave vs. Aronian matches will take place.
Reader Comments (1)
Wesley has done really well in the 3+1 section over the years. Amazing performance.