Magnus Carlsen might have hoped to gift himself a victory on his 30th birthday, but Wesley So turned party-pooper, humbling the reigning world champion in the Skilling Open final on Monday.

After the second four-game match between the two proved to be inconclusive, the title was decided through a blitz playoff, where US Grandmaster So trounced the Norwegian in Game 1 and then drew the second to earn the $30,000 prize purse. The tournament was the first leg of the online Champions Chess Tour that runs until September 2021.

Carlsen, who had posted a picture of his lavish birthday brunch on Instagram earlier in the day, admitted to his lapses, saying: “I did somewhat blunder like an old man today.”

So too was humble in victory. “I’d like to apologise to Magnus for semi-ruining his birthday,” he said.

Carlsen had begun the day well though, outplaying his Philippines-born opponent in the opening encounter of the four-game match from the black side of a Caro-Kann.

Magnus Carlsen Sourced by Correspondent

But Carlsen failed to play two good games in a row and as he erred while trying to force a draw, So hit back to level the scores.

Carlsen had a chance to regain the advantage in the third game but he failed to capitalise on a So mistake.

Both the players went for a quick draw in the fourth game to take the contest to a blitz playoff.

So had stated earlier that he would fancy his chances if he could take Carlsen to a tiebreak and he was proved right. The topsy-turvy first blitz game saw Carlsen first blunder, then recover and then blunder again. So did not lose his grasp and won the game.

In the second game, the 27-year-old So was solid to earn a draw and win the summit clash 1.5-0.5.

So had also demolished Carlsen, the world’s highest-rated player ever with an Elo of 2882, in the Fischer Random World Championship last year.

Asked what is the secret of his success against the world champion, So said: “There’s no secret really. It really depends on Magnus having a good day or a bad day. When he has a good day he is basically unstoppable.”

Carlsen, while congratulating So, accepted that he did not bring his A-game on the table. “I think at the moment Wesley is probably the best at this format. Frankly, to lose to him is not a shame. I just feel it’s a bit of a pity that I couldn’t show my very best here in this tournament.”