So resumes title hunt vs Georgian IM

GM Wesley So resumes his title drive in the World Junior Chess Championship Sunday as he takes on IM Tornike Sanikidze of Georgia in the eighth round at the Sehitkamil Municipality Sport Hall in Gaziantep, Turkey.

Fully charged after a one-day break Saturday, the 11th-seeded So hopes to start the final drive to the championship the way he ended the first half of the 13-round tournament – on a winning note.

So even gets the luxury of handling the white pieces for the second straight game after he demolished Indian IM Pradad Subramanian Friday to gain a share of sixth place with five points.

But against Sanikidze, So will be playing against one of Georgia’s three top players in the tournament which attracted 22 GMs, five WGMs, 23 IMs, 14 WIMs, 15 FMs and 27 WFMs among the 195 players from 60 countries. Sanikidze is coming of a resounding win over IM Manuel Leon Hoyos of Mexico in the seventh round. So drew with Sanikidze in the fourth round.

A win by the 14-year-old Filipino champion, the world’s youngest GM, will definitely boost the Dubai Open champion‘s confidence heading into crucial stages of the tournament.

NM Haridas Pascua, meanwhile, also hopes to sustain his winning streak against Arun.

Pascua, the 15-year-old campaigner from Mangatarem, Pangasinan, has won his last three matches to bounce back.