INDIAN grandmaster Bashkaran Adhiban, playing black, committed some bad moves with his retreating king and paid dearly for it.
Cavite-born GM Wesley So capitalized on Adhiban’s misfortunes and pulled off his first win in the fifth round of the 2018 Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands.
After Adhiban’s miscue in the 66th move, So went on the offensive with a well-protected passed pawn and forced his Indian foe to quit in 80 moves of an English Opening.
So went on to grab a share of the lead with 3.5 points.
The 24-year-old So is now at the top spot along with Anish Giri, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Viswananthan Anand.
Giri, who held the lead with Anand the other day, drew with Gawain Jones in 25 moves of a Nimzo Indian Defense.
Anand, who is seeking his third crown, halved his point with Wei Yi in 29 moves of a Petrov.
On the other hand, Mamedyarov was also held to a draw by Fabiano Caruana in 43 moves of a Queen’s Gambit Declined.
So will try to keep his share of the lead in the sixth round when he faces Wei Yi, who has 2.5 points along with three others.