So triumphs, surges to joint 2nd

WIJK AAN ZEE, Netherlands – Filipino grandmaster Wesley So came away with an inspiring victory over GM Tomi Nyback of Finland through an impeccable defense to move into contention after the 10th round in the 72nd Corus tournament at the De Moriaan Community Centre Wednesday.

So, 16, sustained the initiative from the opening moves to finish off his lower-rated Finnish rival with precise play in 46 moves of the Slav a6 defense.

The win - So’s third in the last five rounds – enabled the Filipino ace to move into a three-way tie for second to fourth places with GMs Ni Hua of China and Erwin l’ Ami of the Netherlands with still three rounds left, half a point behind solo leader GM Anish Giri of the Netherlands.

So and Giri will square off in the 11th round on Friday.

Giri, the 15-year-old son of a Nepalese father and a Russian mother, drew his match with top seed GM Arkadij Naiditsch of Germany to keep the solo lead with seven points.

Ni, the lone Chinese participant in the 14-player field, also halved the point with GM Parimarjan Negi of India, while l’Ami, one of three Dutch entries, split the point with second seed GM Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu of Romania.