Wesley So settles for draw, Giri trips Liren in Tata chess

MANILA, Philippines –Wesley So was held to a draw by Iranian standout Parham Maghsoodloo and dropped to solo third in the 2023 Tata Steel Masters on Tuesday, January 24 (Wednesday, January 25, Philippine time) in Wikj ann Zee, the Netherlands.

The Bacoor, Cavite-born So, now representing Team USA, trailed Uzbek pacesetter Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Dutch ace Anish Giri, who tripped world No. 2 Ding Liren in the ninth round of the tournament featuring 14 Super Grandmasters headed by world champion Magnus Carlsen.

Abdussatorov drew with Vincent Keymer and improved to 6.5 points, towing Giri with 6.0 and So with 5.5.

Carlsen, an eight-time winner and reigning titlist of the event celebrating its 85th staging, split the point with Indian prodigy Gukesh D to lead a bunch of 5-pointers.

Tied with Carlsen were Tata Masters four-time winner Levon Aronian of the United States, 2020 edition champion Fabiano Caruana of the United States, and Indian sensation R. Praggnanandhaa.

Aronian, also of Team USA, drew with Jorden van Foreest, the 2021 Tata Masters winner, while Caruana and Praggnanandhaa also drew their match.

Handling black, So agreed to split the point with Maghsoodloo after 31 moves of a Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation.

So, the inaugural winner of the Chess.Com Global Championship, tackles Giri in the 10th round on Wednesday while Abdusattorov battles Liren. 

Other matches pit Van Foreest against Keymer, Richard Rapport against Aronian, Caruana against Arjun Erigaisi, Gukesh against Praggnanandhaa, and Maghsoodloo against Carlsen. – Rappler.com