By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Grandmaster Wesley So smashed Dutch GM Anish Giri and drew his other three games, including one against world champion Magnus Carlsen, to grab a piece of the lead with four others after four rounds of the Airthings Masters of the Champions Chess Tour Sunday.
So, who topped the Skillings Open that served as the season-ushering leg of the tour last month, shared the top spot with United States teammate Hikaru Nakamura, Armenia’s Levon Aronian, Russia’s Daniil Dubov, and Azerbaijan’s Teimour Radjabov with 2.5 points apiece.
So’s win over Giri came in the third round while the standoff with Carlsen happened in the second round.
So’s other draws were against Spain’s David Anton Guijarro in the first round and Russia’s Alexander Grischuk in the fourth.
So would need to continue to play solidly in the last eight rounds, the first four slated today and the last four tomorrow, to keep his grip on one of the eight slots to the playoff round.
Carlsen, whom So stunned in the finals of the Skilling Open, managed to just draw all his four games to slip to a share of sixth spot with India’s Pentala Harikrishna and Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi.
