Wesley So rises to 3rd behind Ding, Aronian in Goldmoney chess tourney

World No. 3 Ding Liren, Levon Aronian, and Wesley So went unbeaten from rounds 6 to 10 to virtually crash the quarterfinals of the Goldmoney Asia Rapid on Sunday, June 27.

Ding, China’s strongest player ever, and Aronian, the longtime Armenian No. 1 now playing for the United States, shared the lead with 7 points each while So, the Filipino-born US champion, climbed to joint third with Russian Vladislav Artemiev, the former European champion, at 6.5 points.

Pulled down by a loss to Aronian in round 6, world champion Magnus Carlsen landed at 6 points with Anish Giri, Netherlands’ No. 1. They are also expected to advance to the quarterfinals of the event serving as the seventh leg of the Champions Chess Tour.

With five rounds left in the preliminary stage, a tight fight for the last two playoff slots looms among India’s 17-year-old grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi (5.5 points), Polish ace Jan-Krzysztof Duda (5 points), and 4.5-pointers Saleh Salem of the United Arab Emirates, Iranian-born teen sensation Alireza Firouzja, and Russians Peter Svidler and Daniil Dubov.

So, winner of the Paris Rapid & Blitz last week, drew with Dubov in round 6, beat Artemiev and Baskaran Adhiban, then settled for draws with Ding and Gukesh D.

Ding, who took up law at Peking University, drew with Vidit Gujrathi, beat Firouzja, drew with women’s world champion Hou Yifan, drew with So, and bested Svidler.

Propped up by that win over Carlsen, Aronian also trounced Erigaisi before being stalled by draws with Giri, Gujrathi, and Duda.

Slated to face So in rounds 11 to 15 are Erigaisi, Gujrathi, Firouzja, Hou, and Aronian.

Aiming for his third straight title after topping the New in Chess Classic and FTX Crypto Cup, Carlsen will take on Adhiban, Ding, Gukesh, Erigaisi, and Gujrathi in succession. – Rappler.com