So claims 2nd jr plum, places 11th

Final standings after nine rounds:

7 points – L. Q.Liem (Vietnam)

6.5 – A. Korobov (Russia)

6 – A. Motylev (Russia), Z. Jianchao (China), N.N. ,Truong Son (Vietnam), B. ,Grachev (Russia).

5.5 – I. Cheparinov (Bulgaria), M. Vachier-Lagrave (France), I. Nepomnichtchi (Russia), B. ,Xiangzhi (China), W. ,So (RP), G, Sargissian (Armenia), B,. Savchenko (Russia), E. Bacrot (France), A. Timofeev (Russia), E. Bareev (Russia), E. ,Najer (Russia), E. Iturrizaga (Venezuela), A. Dreev (Russia)

MOSCOW, Russia – Grandmaster Wesley So bagged the top junior award for the second straight year in the 2010 Aeroflot Open chess championships at the Hotel Gamma-Delta of the Ismailovo Tourist Complex here.

So, playing black, agreed to a final-round draw with GM Eduardo Iturrizaga of Venezuela after only 10 moves of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted to finish in a tie for seventh to 19th places with 5.5 points on three wins, five draws and only one loss in the prestigious, nine-round tournament.

Overall, So finished in 11th place after the tiebreak – a big improvement from his performance last year when he finished in a tie for 19th to 36th places with five points on three wins, four draws and two losses.

But the draw was also more than enough for the 16-year-old Filipino champion to bring home the top junior trophy given to the highest-placed player 18 years old and below for the second year in a row.