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Friday, March 29, 2024

Kramnik, So agree to split point

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RUSSIAN grandmaster Vladimir Kramnilk unravelled a complicated opening game and surprised Filipino GM Wesley So.

But So quickly recovered, turned down a knight sacrifice and played Kramnik to a draw in Round 8 of the 80th Tata Steel Chess Masters Tournament.

Seeing no clear advantage following the presence of opposite-colored bishops, So settled for a draw in 28 moves of an English Opening  last Sunday in Wijk Aan Zee, the Netherlands.

“I don’t think I got too many problems in the opening, and I equalized quite well. But, then he kept on looking for ways to complicate the game and get the initiative. But I think I defended well, and the position got interesting,” said So in an online interview with chessbase.com.

So, who said he remained unfazed when Kramnik used the lines of the Reti and then the Catalan in his opening moves, kept his share of second spot with Kramnik.

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They have five points.

Their game was almost eclipsed by Anish Giri’s 32-move triumph over erstwhile solo leader Shakh Mamedyarov in their Uncommon Opening encounter. Peter Atencio

This allowed Giri to gain a share of the top spot with Mamedyarov and world no. 1 Magnus Carlsen with 5.5 points.

Carlsen recovered from a big  blunder to dispatch of Gawain Jones in 42 moves of a Sicilian Dragon.

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