Wesley So slips to second in Edmonton

Grandmaster Wesley So was held to another draw by American GM Irina Krush in the eighth round Saturday night and yielded top spot to Ukrainian GM Vassily Ivanchuk in the 9th Edmonton Chess Festival in Alberta, Canada.

Ivanchuk, seeded second to So with his Elo 2738, downed Canadian International Master Richard Wang to tally 7.0 points, dislodging So who posted 6.5.

So also split the point with Canadian Fide Master Vladimir Pechenkin in the seventh round, pulling down his live rating to 2746.6 from a high of 2754.

Handling black, So agreed to a truce as he and the Ukraine-born Krush, the first American woman to gain a GM title, have three pawns and a bishop each with no winning line.

Krush, the US women’s champion the last three years with an Elo of 2484, was at 3.5 points.

American GM Samuel Shankland was in third place with 5.5 points following a victory over Canadian IM Raja Panjwani (3.5).