So draws anew in Aeroflot chess; Gomez paces Group B

MANILA, Philippines - Grandmaster Wesley So settled for another draw in Group A of the Aeroflot Open Chess Championship while GM John Paul Gomez stunned erstwhile unbeaten GM Alexei Gavrilov to wrest the lead in Group B in Moscow last Saturday.

So halved the point with GM Stanislav Novikov of Russia after only 20 moves of the Sicilian and remained way behind the leaders with only two points after five rounds of play.

But while So continued to grope for form, Gomez proved his worth, surprising Gavrilov with a big win that netted him the solo lead in the accompanying division.

Gomez now has 4.5 points, half-a-point ahead of compatriot GM Darwin Laylo, GM Tigran Kotanjian of Armenia, GM Dorian Rogozenco of Romania, Bayarsaikhan Gundavaa of Mongolia, GMs Wen Yang and Zhao Xue of China and Gavrilov.

Laylo drew with Zhao.

Also in Group B, IM Richard Bitoon outplayed WFM Indira Bajt of Slovenia for joint 21st with three points.

IM Oliver Barbosa bested FM Daniel Malek of Germany to improve to 2.5 points while IM Oliver Dimakiling bowed to Moscow Open champion Vladimir Belous of Russia.