FILIPINO grandmaster Wesley So and young Chinese GM Wei Yi played to a draw in 32 moves of a Reti opening in Round 12 of the 2017 Tata Steel Masters Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, The Netherlands.
With So’s eighth draws against four wins, he stayed in the solo lead with still a round left.
The 23-year-old So, who lost his full-point lead in the 11th round, repeated a line of moves that Ding Liren played in his game with Wei two years ago, according to analysts.
He was able to check the king, but because So was playing it safe, he accepted Wei’s offer to split the point.
Sharing second to third with the 17-year-old Wei are super GMs Levi Aronian and world no. 1 Magnus Carlsen.
Aronian prevailed over Loek Van Wely in 34 moves of a Reti, while Carlsen came away with a 60-move triumph over Pavel Eljanov in their Dutch Defense game.
In the final round, So is expected to have a tough time with Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi, who is seeking payback from their encounter in the Baku Olympiad.
So, who has stayed undefeated in 54 games since winning the Sinquefield Cup and the London Chess Classic and taking the overall crown in the Grand Chess Tour last year, is close to his third crown in two years.