GRANDMASTER Wesley So fended off a queenside attack and settled for a 29-move draw with Peter Svidler in the fourth round of the 5th Sinquefield Cup 2017 Grand Chess Tour in Saint Louis, Missouri.
Svidler, playing the Guico Piano Opening with So, rallied his knight to offensive moves in the 26th move.
But So parried Svidler’s maneuvers by placing the queen and rook near the king and made it impossible for his rival to make a check with the king hiding behind two pawns.
So now has two points.
He now shares a five-way tie in third place with Indian GM Viswanathan Anand, Levi Aronian, Magnus Carlsen, and Sergey Karjakin.
The tournament is considered an elite international event, featuring 10 of the strongest chess players in the world.
Over the course of nine rounds, these competitors will battle for $300,000 in prize money, points and the coveted title.
Meanwhile, GM Janelle Mae Frayna, playing white, missed her winning chance on the 28th move against the three-time champion Ilze Berzina in the fifth round of the Erfurt International Chess Women Open
Berzina, the current women’s Latvian Champion and currently the General Secretary of Latvian Chess Federation, played to a draw in 40 moves of their Italian Opening encounter.
Her coach Jayson Gonzales said Janelle, playing black, gained equality early on.
“In the opening stage of the game when somewhere in the later part of the middle game, she boldly sacrificed a pawn, not enabling to calculate the tactical response from her opponent,” said Gonzales.