So drops to fourth after draw

Manila, Philippines - GM Wesley So settled for a draw against GM Hou Yifan of China and dropped to fourth spot after five rounds of the AI (Airports Authority of India) Grandmasters chess tournament in New Delhi, India last Sunday.

So had a rook, knight and three pawns against Hou’s rook, white bishop and three pawns when they agreed to split the point after 53 moves of a Vienna Opening.

The draw hiked So’s output to 2.5 points, 1.5 points behind GM Fabiano Caruana of Italy who also halved the point with GM Viktor Laznicka of Czech Republic to remain on top with four points.

Laznicka remained in second with 3.5 points.

Krishnan Sasikiran defeated fellow Indian GM Parimarjan Negi after 56 moves of Ruy Lopez to move up to third with three points.

So faces Sasikiran in the sixth round, hoping to step up his title drive in the event which offers a top purse of $8,000.