Battle to a draw

So, Chinese GM battle to a draw in Corus chess
01/25/2010 12:27 PM

WIJK AAN ZEE, Netherlands – After a pair of inspiring victories in the sixth and seventh rounds, GM Wesley So of the Philippines had another draw to show in the 72nd Corus chess tournament at the De Moriaan Community Centre Sunday (Monday in Manila).

So and fellow GM Ni Hua of China retraced the memory of a game they played in Manila four years ago and came up with yet another draw after only 17 moves of the Sicilian Maroczy Bind.

The draw left both So and the fourth-seeded Ni (ELO 2657) in a three-way tie for second to fourth places with GM Erwin l’ Ami of the Netherlands with an eight-round total of five points.

The three, however, are now one-and-a half points behind solo leader GM Anish Giri of the Netherlands with only five rounds remaining in this prestigious, category-16 Group B competition.

Giri, the 15-year-old Nepal-born champion who now plays for the Netherlands, outduelled GM David Howell of England in 40 moves of the Gruendfeld to raise his score to 6.5 points on five wins and three draws.

Chessdom.com analyst GM Buenaventura “Bong” Villamayor observed that Ni, who is best remembered for winning the tough Reggio Emilia super GM tournament in 2008, and So battled to “an equal position with white having the bind and black enjoying some counterplay.”

Here is the full article.