
How Wesley So Overcame All Odds To Become One Of The Best
His family envisioned a career as an accountant for him, but GM Wesley So defied expectations to become a chess world champion and one of the strongest players in the world.
In a new Chess.com documentary on So's life, the 31-year-old grandmaster reflected on his journey from growing up in the Philippines, overcoming major challenges with his biological family, and ultimately finding a new family in the United States that allowed him success on the chess board and in life.
Watch the 26-minute YouTube video below:
So is a chess prodigy who has risen to become one of the world's strongest grandmasters, consistently ranked among the top-10 in the last decade. His peak rating of 2822 in February 2017 is the fifth-highest ever and made him the world number-two, trailing only GM Magnus Carlsen.
He is a three-time U.S. Chess Champion, and has won numerous super tournaments. His greatest achievement to date came in 2019, when he won the first-ever FIDE-sanctioned Fischer Random World Chess Championship after defeating Carlsen 13.5-2.5 in the final.
However, the journey toward the top hasn't been easy, So said in the documentary. "We were living paycheck to paycheck when I was young. It was a struggle, but I didn't understand it back then. It showed me the importance of working hard."
We were living paycheck to paycheck when I was young. It was a struggle, but I didn't understand it back then. It showed me the importance of working hard.
—Wesley So
Despite the financial difficulties, So's natural talent for chess became apparent early on. By the age of six, he was introduced to the game. He quickly got hooked. "After I beat my father, I started looking around for stronger opponents. That's basically how it started."
Wesley started winning, first the Under 9 Championship. He realized he could start earning money with his passion. "Traveling abroad to Europe was unimaginable for a poor young boy like me, but I managed to go to Greece."

In 2007, So became a grandmaster at 14, one of the youngest at the time. "I think I could've gotten it earlier, but then I made a big blunder at a tournament." A turning point in his life and career came when, as a 15-year-old in 2008, he won the strong Dubai Open Chess Championship.
Later, he also broke Carlsen's record as the youngest-ever 2600-rated player. The following year, he won his first major tournament by triumphing in the C Group at the 71st Corus Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee.
However, Wesley’s relationship with his biological family was strained. "I didn’t really get along well with my parents. My mother had never been to any of my tournaments and thought chess wasn’t a good career with all this traveling. My father was very strict, and I didn’t get along with him too much either."
I didn’t really get along well with my parents. My mother had never been to any of my tournaments and thought chess wasn’t a good career with all this traveling. My father was very strict, and I didn’t get along with him either.
—Wesley So
Wesley was at a crossroads in his life and career. He shares the story of how his biological mother received a job offer in Canada in 2009. "I wasn't sure whether I wanted to move to Canada. I was 15 and very young. I had no idea what's happening and what I would want in life. I thought it would be better for my chess career to stay in the Philippines. I wanted to keep playing chess," he said.
Ultimately, his family moved to Toronto, but Wesley decided to stay behind. The President of the Philippines Chess Federation offered him an apartment in Manila, and Wesley accepted. "I thought it was a good option at the time. I had friends in the Philippines and thought I could play chess and try to reach my goal to get to 2700," he said.

Reflecting on the decision 15 years later, he said: "It was obviously a mistake. I got into some bad company, relatively bad friends who introduced me to alcohol and video games. Basically my chess didn't go anywhere. I don't think anyone can live by yourself at 16 in Manila," he said.
In 2012, Wesley made the decision to move to the United States to attend Webster University, joining the chess program led by GM Susan Polgar. It marked a turning point in his career and allowed him to focus entirely on chess. "It was one of the very best decisions I've made in my life."
"Most of my savings was with my family in Canada. I came to this country with $2,000 in my pocket and a bunch of old clothes. That's all I had, really."
Most of my savings was with my family in Canada. I came to this country with $2,000 in my pocket and a bunch of old clothes. That's all I had, really.
—Wesley So
In 2013 he met Lotis Key, a former actress, and her husband, Renato Kabigting, who live in Minnesota. Key saw the immense potential in Wesley, and eventually became a guiding force in his life. "By the end of 2014, he was living with us full-time. I don’t know how it happened," she said. "He would just come, and show up unexpectedly and call us from the airport and say, 'I’m here.' And we’d get in the car and go get him."
Key recalled her initial uncertainty about how to help the young grandmaster. "I thought, you know, God wants me to do something here, but I’m not sure what. I don’t play chess. I don’t know the first thing about chess."

Despite her doubts, she decided to act. "I told my husband, okay, what if we take him in for six months and we straighten out his life, get him going, find him an apartment. And okay, we’re 10 years later now, and he’s my formally adopted son. How those years happened is astounding to me."
She also recalled encouraging Wesley to follow his dreams despite his initial doubts. "When I asked him, 'What is it you want to do, Wesley?' he said, 'I want to play chess, but I’m not good enough.' And I told him, 'We won’t know that until you actually do it, right? Maybe you’re not, but how would I know?'"
Wesley was given time to prove himself. "I suggested him to take a year off. 'We’ll take care of you, put you out on the road, you go and show us what you can do. If in a year you’re supporting yourself, well, maybe it’s what you’re supposed to be doing.'" she recalled telling him.
Key said she made efforts to connect with the biological family in Canada. "I wanted to make them see that your boy has gifting and that needs to be protected and it needs to be encouraged. They wanted him to be an accountant. And I said, 'Well, what if he can do more?'"
They wanted him to be an accountant. And I said, 'Well, what if he can do more?'
—Lotis Key, Wesley So's stepmother
The move proved to pay off. After winning the $100,000 first prize in the 2014 Millionaire Chess in Las Vegas, Wesley quit college to go all-in on his chess career. Not long after, he also made it to the top-10. "It was incredible. I put in so much work in my career, but I never thought I would reach top-10."

Having established himself in the U.S., his career soared. In 2015, he finished second with an impressive 8.5/11 in Tata Steel Chess in Wijk aan Zee. In 2016 and 2017 he had a particularly impressive series of tournament victories. First, he took clear first in the Sinquefield Cup ahead of former world champions Viswanathan Anand and Veselin Topalov, and 2014 winner GM Fabiano Caruana.
The success continued with taking sole first place in the 2016 London Chess Classic, and clinching the Grand Chess Tour. Less than two months later, he won yet another tournament by improving on his 2016 result, winning in Wijk aan Zee and finishing ahead of Carlsen.
In 2019, he overcame Carlsen once again to became the first official World Fischer Random Chess Champion, cementing his legacy in the chess world.
So himself reflected on his journey to the top, crediting his family for turning his life around. "I feel I’m in a very good place in my life right now. But the journey has been very up and down. There have been times in my life that I look back to and then I wonder 'how did I even survive that?'"
There have been times in my life that I look back to and then I wonder 'How did I even survive that?'
—Wesley So
Lotis Key believes Wesley's story is a miracle, noting that he has been a top-10 player for a decade. "He could have gone on the rest of his life thinking, 'I’m just not good enough. I’ll never be good enough.' And I think that there are many miracles out there waiting to happen. And you’ve got to have more people around who believe in kids and believe in the miracle that lies within them," she said.