Wesley So scores lone win, ties Caruna, 2 others on top

United States champion Wesley So posted the lone victory in round 2 on Wednesday, August 18 (Thursday, August 19, Philippine time) to gain a share of the lead in the 2021 Sinquefield Cup.

Handling black, So had an unstoppable e6 pawn when fellow American Dariusz Swiercz, the lowest-rated in the 10-man field, resigned after 45 moves of a Ruy Lopez-Berlin Defense in the $150,000 event being held at the St. Louis Chess Club in Missouri.

So, who drew with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in the first round, caught up with top seed Fabiano Caruana, Leinier Dominguez, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave at 1.5 points.

After winning their opening games on Tuesday, Caruana, Dominguez, and Vachier-Lagrave settled for draws in round 2 of the 10-player round-robin serving as the fifth and last leg of the 2021 Grand Chess Tour.

Caruana, the world No. 2, split the point with fellow American Dominguez, while Vachier-Lagrave agreed to a truce with Hungarian Richard Rapport.

The game between Americans Sam Shankland and Jeffery Xiong, and Russian Peter Svidler and Mamedyarov,  also ended in a draw.

The Filipino-born So will attempt to make it two in a row when he clashes with Svidler in round 3.

Other pairings pit Mamedyarov against Rapport, Vachier-Lagrave against Shankland, Xiong against Dominguez, and Caruana against Swiercz. – Rappler.com