So pulls off 21-move win for solo lead

MANILA, Philippines - Wesley So beat American Grandmaster Alex Yermolinsky in 21 moves in a Bishop’s Variation of a Queen’s Gambit Declined yesterday to seize the solo lead in the 24th North American Chess Open in Las Vegas, Nevada.

So routed Yermolinsky, a former member of the US Olympiad chess team, by winning the exchange of major pieces early on and hacking out his fourth straight win to jump to the top with an unblemished four points in as many rounds.

With the win, So seized the top spot as co-leaders GMs Maxim Dlugy and Vladimir Georgiev each ended up with half a point in the third round to share the No. 2 spot with several others in this five-day event staking a top purse worth $10,000.

Dlugy split the point with Bu Xiangzhi in 27 moves in a Fianchetto Variation of the Queen’s Pawn game while Georgiev afforded himself of a bye allowed in each player participating in this annual tournament using a unique format, to fall half a point behind So with 3.5 points apiece.

Earlier on the same day, So squeezed out a win out of a drawish-looking queen and bishop ending to turn back Russian International Master Roman Yankovsky in 27 moves of a Caro-Kann duel in the third round.

Against Yermolinsky, So was forceful and hammered through his foe’s weak pair of central pawns that won the former Webster University standout the exchange and forcing the former to resign a couple of moves later.