GRANDMASTER Samuel Shankland assumed the solo lead after Filipino GM Wesley So drew with Zviad Izoria last Monday in the sixth round of the 2018 United States Chess Championships in St. Louis, Missouri.
Shankland took 53 moves of a Nimzo Indian Defense to stop Varuzhan Akobian as he moved to the top of the standings with 4.5 points.
So, who had a share of the lead entering the game, dropped behind after he drew with Izoria in 30 moves of a Queen’s Pawn Game.
Fabiano Caruana prevailed over Ray Robson in 39 moves of a Petrov Defense and caught up with So in second place. Both have four points.
Shankland gained an advantage when Akobian missed the winning line on the 20th move with a rook to f7 move.
Akobian fell behind in third place with 3.5 points.
Hikaru Nakamura drew with Jeffrey Xiong in 31 moves of a Vienna Game, while Yaroslav Zherebukh halved his point with Aleksandr Lenderman in 30 moves of a Queen’s Gambit Declined.
So braces for a showdown with Shankland in round 7.