Final draw drops So to joint 4th

MANILA, Philippines - Wesley So failed to shake off lone female player IM Anna Muzychuk of Slovenia and settled for a draw, finishing in joint fourth with GM Erwin l’Ami of the Netherlands at the close of the 72nd Corus chess tournament at the De Moriaan Community Centre in Wijk Aan Zee, Netherlands Sunday.

The 16-year-old So and Muzychuk halved the point via repetition of moves in 38 moves of the Capablanca variation of the Nimzo-Indian defense, giving the Filipino champion a 7.5 point total after 13 rounds of play.

That was 1.5 points behind GM Anish Giri of the Netherlands, who emerged solo champion with nine points, followed by top seed GM Arkadij Naiditsch of Germany with 8.5 points and GM Ni Hua of China with eight points.

Although he had a three-pawn advantage over Muzychuk in a double-edged queen and rook ending, So was forced to accept a draw offer after the Ukraine-born Slovenian made a strong counterplay with her queen and two connected rooks.