So clinches 2nd straight chess crown

MANILA, Philippines -- Grandmaster Wesley So fought Dutch GM Robin Van Kampen to a 59-move draw of their Ruy Lopez duel Saturday to virtually clinch the 17th Unive Tournament in Hoogeveen, Netherlands with still a round to remaining.

Playing black, the Filipino ace sacrificed a central pawn on the 29th move and regained it three moves later plus the initative.

After some super-sharp, major-piece exchanges, So, who turned 20 last Oct. 9, seized a pawn advantage in a rook, knight and pawn endgame but had to give it up the later to settle for the standoff.

The result was enough for So, who is ranked 40th in the world today, to clinch the crown with four points regardless of the outcome of his sixth and final round game with top seed Michael Adams of England in this four-player field boasting of an average rating of 2689 with 3.5 points.

It was So's second draw of the tournament after winning his other three matches, one over Van Kampen in the first round and two at the expense of another Dutch GM Loek Van Wely including a 33-move win of a Slav Defense the day before.

So aims to officially wrap up the title, his second in months after emerging with the gold medal in the University Games in Kazan, Russia, as he faces Adams, who owns the highest FIDE rating with 2753 against the former's 2706, in the last round being played at press time.

The group, called crown, is the most elite of the multi-category event in the Netherlands, which includes the Open, Amateur 1 and Amateur 2.

So is expected to gain some rating points from his triumphant effort here that should push him closer to the higher echelon of the sport.

Unfortunately, the former World Junior champion is planning to skip the Southeast Asian Games this December in Myanmar because of his spat with the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and Phl Olympic Committee.