So keeps top spot with draw

Filipino Grandmaster Wesley So settled for a draw with Hungarian GM Zoltan Almasi in the fourth round Wednesday night but kept the lead over GM Baadur Jovaba in the ACP Golden Classic in Bergamo, Italy.

The 21-move draw with Almasi gave the top-seeded So (Elo 2744) 3.0 points, half a point ahead of Jobava (2713), who trounced Italian GM Daniele Vocaturo (2584).

Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2730) finally broke out of a slump by downing Italian GM Sabino Brunello (2568) to catch up with his victim, Israeli GM Emil Sutovsky (2620) and Almasi at 1.5 points.

The 20-year-old So, winner of last month’s Capablanca Memorial in Cuba, drew a bye in the fifth round and will take on Jobava with the white pieces in the sixth and penultimate round.

Roy Luarca