DUTCH Loek van Wely succeeded in attacking the queenside and in trapping Grandmaster Wesley So’s king.
But while he managed to check the king four times, he was losing crucial pieces at endgame.
Van Wely eventually conceded to So, who won in 43 moves of a Reti Opening in the fourth round of the 2017 Tata Steel Chess Masters in Wijk aan Zee, The Netherlands.
For So, who has unofficially risen to world no. 3 following his win over Hungarian GM Richard Rapport the other day, this was his second win against two draws in four outings.
He stayed in second position, though, with world no. 1 GM Magnus Carlsen beside him with three points.
Pavel Eljanov stayed in the solo lead with 3.5 points.
Eljanov was a pawn up when he defeated Adhiban Baskaran in 56 moves of a Queen’s Pawn Game.
It was his third triumph against a draw.
Analysts said So was too strong for Van Wely, who has not shown his best form in the first part of the tournament.
So took control of the middle after he sacrificed his queen and bishop in the 9th and 13 moves.
He gained a three-pawn advantage when Van Wely started penetrating the back rank and began making aggressive moves with his rook and bishop on the 33rd.
In the end, So gained control of Loek’s back and dispatched the two pesky pieces.
Carlsen prevailed over Wei Yi in 33 moves of another Queen’s Pawn Game.
Pental Harikrishna dropped out of second spot following his draw with Sergey Karjakin in 30 moves of a Queen’s Pawn.
Both Hariskrisha and Karjakin share third with 2.5 points.