Wesley, Ivanchuk keep lead after 60-move draw

MANILA, Philippines - GMs Wesley So and Ukrainian Vassily Ivanchuk battled to a marathon 60-move draw in a slambang Sicilian duel to remain tied for the lead after four rounds of the ninth Edmonton Chess Festival in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada yesterday.

In a duel of the tournament’s top two players, So, 20, sacrificed a pawn and a piece to gain kingside and central counterplay but Ivanchuk, a former World Challenger, also gave up his material advantage several moves later, leading to a draw.

The standoff kept So, ranked 15th in the world after topping the Capablanca Memorial in Cuba recently, and Ivanchuk, the World No. 20, at the helm at 3.5 points with five rounds remaining.

So earlier beat Canadian IM Raja Panjwani and Richard Wang and American GM Samuel Shankland.

Meanwhile, GM John Paul Gomez downed IM Joel Pimentel to regain the solo lead in the Battle of GMs at the PSC Administration Bldg. at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

Gomez now has 15 points, a full point ahead of Olympiad veteran GM Eugene Torre, who settled for a draw with US-based Banjo Barcenilla.

Janelle Mae Frayna, the lone female participant, stunned erstwhile leader IM Jan Emmanuel Garcia to gain a share of third with her victim at 13.5 points.

The 11-round tournament offers two berths in the Philippine team bound for the Olympiad set from Aug. 1-15 in Tromso, Norway.

Seeded into the team are GMs Julio Catalino Sadorra and Oliver Barbosa along with So, who, however, has signified his intention to switch federations.