So, Aronian held to semis draws

Wesley So. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The first games of the semifinals ended in draws Tuesday night, rendering Wednesday’s second games as determinants of the World Chess Cup 2017 finalists.

Super Grandmasters Wesley So of the USA and Ding Liren of China split the point and so did super GMs Armenian Levon Aronian and Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the semifinal pairings of what started as a 128-player field in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Handling black, Ding forged the draw with the Philippine-born So, who was unable to translate a positional edge into victory, via perpetual check in 47 moves of a Guioco Piano.

The protagonists will switch colors Wednesday with So and Aronian getting their turn to play black.