So, Onischuk dispute solo second in SPICE

MANILA, Philippines - GM Wesley So faces GM Alexander Onischuk as he resumes his campaign in the 2010 SPICE (Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence) championship at the Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas Thursday.

So held top seed GM Zoltan Almasi to a marathon 105-move draw in the fifth round Tuesday before the double round-robin Category 16 tournament took a break Wednesday.

So and Onischuk drew their match in the first round last Oct. 28.

The 17-year-old Filipino champion has eight points on two wins, two draws and one loss in the six-player competition serving as So’s final buildup for the Asian Games set Nov. 12-27 in Guangzhou.

Onischuk tied So for second by beating GM Roy Robson in the other fifth-round encounter.

So and Onischuk are three points behind solo leader GM Georg Meier of Germany based on a unique scoring system which gives three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero for a loss.

Meier, who dealt So his lone setback during their fourth-round showdown, defeated GM Eugene Perelshteyn of the US for his third win in five games.