Carlsen draws with So, keeps lead

World champion Magnus Carlsen drew with Wesley So in the sixth round Saturday night to keep the solo lead in the Qatar Masters Open.

The Norwegian top seed raised his total to 5.0 points with the Philippine-born So, now representing the United States, and 12 other Grandmasters sharing second with 4.5 each.

Equal in material and position, the former training partners agreed to a truce after 39 moves of a Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin variation, as Carlsen maintained his edge over So in their personal matchups.

Carlsen won once over So in the Sinquefield Cup in four meetings this year with the other matches in Tata Steel Chess and Gashimov Memorial also ending in draws.

Carlsen and Anish Giri of the Netherlands, also in second spot, will tangle in the seventh round on Sunday while So will clash with Ukraine’s Ruslan Ponomariov. Roy Luarca