So halves point, keeps chess lead

MANILA, Philippines - GM Wesley So battled GM Hans Tikkanen of Sweden to a draw in the third round to remain tied for the lead in the 19th Sigeman and Co. Chess Championship at the Classic Hipp Theater in Sweden Saturday.

So, who shocked former world championship candidate GM Alexei Shirov of Spain in the second round, kept Tikkanen on even terms and claimed a moral victory with the draw achieved from the black side of the board.

The 31-move standoff enabled So to keep a share of the lead with defending champion GM Anish Giri of the Netherlands and Tikkanen with two points in the short, six-player round-robin tournament.

Giri held his ground and drew his match with Shirov in 40 moves of the Bishop Opening.

The only other match which pitted GM Jonny Hector and World Youth bronze medalist Nils Cornelius, both of Sweden, ended in a draw after a marathon 101 moves.

“It was a pretty easy draw for Black (So),” commented experts who analyzed the game live on the internet.

In the fourth round, So will play white against Grandelius while Shirov will meet Tikkanen and Giri will square off against Hector in other crucial matches.

The fifth and final round will be held Monday with So closing out his campaign with the black against Hector, a 15-time participant. 

Tikkanen-Giri and Grandleius-Shirov round out the other matches.