So leads Cuba tilt

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino Grandmaster Wesley So downed Hungarian GM Zoltan Almasi in the fifth round on Monday (Tuesday) in Manila to gain the solo lead halfway through the 49th Capablanca Memorial chess tournament at Habana Riviera Hotel in La Havana, Cuba.

Handling black with precision, So forced the defending champion to resign after 48 moves of a French Winawer to raise his total to 3.5 points in the Category 19 (2721 average Elo rating) 6-man double round-robin tournament.

After a tournament break on Tuesday, So will take on Cuban GM Lazaro Bruzon Batista (Elo 2682) in the sixth round Wednesday.