Wesley So draws with Swede, stays in front

MALMO, Sweden—Filipino grandmaster Wesley So battled GM Hans Tikkanen of Sweden to a draw in the third round Saturday to stay on top of the 19th Sigeman and Co. chess tournament at this city’s Classic Hipp Theater.

The 17-year-old So, still buoyed by his stunning upset of former world championship candidate GM Alexei Shirov of Spain in the second round Friday, kept the lower-rated Tikkanen, playing white, on even terms and claimed a psychological victory with the draw.

The draw, reached after only 31 moves, allowed So to keep a share of the lead with defending champion GM Anish Giri of the Netherlands and Tikkanen with two points in this short, six-player round-robin tournament.

Giri, the Moscow-born son of a Nepalese father and a Russian mother who now lives in the Dutch city of Rjswijk, drew his match with Shirov in 40 moves of the Bishop opening.

The only other match pitting GM Jonny Hector and World Youth bronze medalist Nils Cornelius, both of Sweden, ended in a draw after a marathon 101 moves.

The draw was considered satisfactory by So’s Internet followers.

Noted chess expert Glen Bordonada, Tikkanen even enjoyed slight positional advantage with more space development when the game was agreed drawn.

In the fourth round, So will play white aganst Grandelius. Shirov will meet Tikkanen and Giri will square off with Hector.

The moves:

H. Tikkanen (Sweden) vs. W. So (Philippines)

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 Nf6 6. e3 Bf5 7. Nge2 O-O 8. Ng3 Be6 9. Bd3 c5 10. dxc5 Bxc5 11. O-O Nc6 12. Na4 Be7 13. Nf5 Bxf5 14. Bxf5 d4 15. exd4 Nxd4 16. Bh3 b5 17. Be3 bxa4 18. Bxd4 a3 19. bxa3 Qa5 20. Re1 Qxa3 21. Qe2 Qa4 22. Qd1 Qa3 23. Qb3 Qxb3 24. axb3 Bb4 25. Red1 a5 26. g3 Ne4 27. Bg2 Rfe8 28. Rd3 Rad8 29. Rad1 Nc5 30. Bxc5 Rxd3 31. Rxd3 (0.5-0.5)

Standings after three rounds:

2.0 points—W. So (Philippines), A. Giri (Netherlands), H. Tikkanen (Sweden); 1.5—A. Shirov (Spain); 1.0—J, Hector (Sweden); 0.5—N. Grandlwius (Sweden)