So shares top spot in Reykjavik Open

Standings after Round 7: 6.0 points—GM Pavel Eljanov (Ukraine), GM Grzegorz Gajewski (Poland), GM Wesley So (Philippines); 5.5 points—GM Anish Giri (The Netherlands), GM Yu Yangyi (China), GM Marcin Dziuba (Poland), GM Ivan Cheparinov (Bulgaria), IM Wei Yi (China), GM Gawain Jones (England), GM Ding Liren (China), GM Mustafa Yilmaz (Turkey), GM Alexander Ipatov (Turkey), GM Erwin L’ami (The Netherlands), GM Bassem Amin (Egypt), GM Ivan Sokolov (The Netherlands)

FILIPINO Grandmaster Wesley So bested Greek GM Stelios Halkias in the seventh round to gain a share of the lead in the 28th Reykjavik Open chess championships in Reykjavik, Iceland, on Monday.

The seventh-seeded So (Elo 2684) forced  23th-seed Halkias (Elo 2566) to resign after 41 moves of a King’s Pawn Opening and catch up with overnight solo leader GM Pavel Eljanov of Ukraine and GM Grzegorz Gajewski of Poland.

So, who has a performance rating of 2761 thus far, and the co-leaders have 6.0 points each with three rounds to go.

Eljanov only managed a draw against GM Anish Giri of The Netherlands after 100 moves of a Reti Opening while Gajewski subdued GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France after 78 moves of a Gruenfeld Defense.

The 19-year-old So, who’s taking a break from his studies in the United States, will be facing GM Yu Yangyi (Elo 2688) of China while  Eljanov will meet Gajewski in the crucial eighth round.

The tournament, offering a total purse of 15,000 euros,  serves as So’s buildup for the 2013 World Chess Cup slated Aug. 10 to Sept. 5 in Tromso, Norway.