Ruy Lopez draw keeps So at helm

MANILA, Philippines - Wesley So drew his eighth round match with fellow GM Yu Yangyi to remain tied for the lead in the Reykjavik Open chess championships in Iceland yesterday.

So and Yu agreed to split the point after 22 moves of Ruy Lopez Opening with the Filipino ace hiking his output to 6.5 points for a six-way tie for first.

Others in the lead are GM Pavel Eljanov of Ukraine, GM Marcin Dziuba and GM Grzegorz Gajewski of Poland, GM Ding Liren and IM Wei Yi of China.

Eljanov drew with Gajewski after 35 moves of English Opening, Dziuba toppled GM Ivan Sokolov of the Netherlands after 68 moves of Queens Gambit Accepted, Ding routed GM Alexander Ipatov of Turkey after 31 moves of King’s Indian Defense, and Wei upset GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France after 33 moves of Sicilian Defense, Rossolimo variation.

So takes on Dziuba in a crucial ninth round match which also features the Ding-Eljanov and the Gajewski-Wei encounters.

The tournament serves as part of So’s buildup for the 2013 World Chess Cup set Aug. 10-Sept. 5 in Tromso, Norway. Joining So in the World Cup is GM Oliver Barbosa.