So draws with Chinese, American GMs to cop title

MANILA, Philippines – GM Wesley So drew with Chinese Grandmaster Bu Xiangzhi and American GM Julio Becerra in succession to virtually clinch the title with a round to go in the 24th North American Chess Open in Las Vegas, Nevada Tuesday.

The top-seeded So's six-win streak ended after battling the second-ranked Bu in a marathon 82-move standoff in a Maroczy bind variation of the Sicilian Defense. He then settled for a quick 18-move draw with Becerra in a Ruy Lopez game hours later to claim the win and the top purse worth $10,000 with still a round to be played.

After eight grueling rounds, So remained unscathed with seven points on six wins and two draws, a clear one-point ahead of the pack headed by Becerra, Bu and American Alex Yermolinsky, who split the point with Bu in only 19 moves of a Slav duel, with six points apiece.

So will clinch first place regardless of his ninth and final round result early Wednesday (Philippine time) due to a superior tiebreak.

It will be So's fourth victory of the year after topping the Cablanca Memorial in Cuba, ACP Golden Classics in Bergamo, Italy and the Millionaire's Cup in the United States where he pocketed $100,000, his biggest money prize to date.

More importantly, So's current live rating, 2768.7 and No. 10 ranking are all-time highs since starting the year at No. 28.

After this, So will face off with world No. 9 Hiraku Nakamura in a duel of the US' top two chessers.

So then plunges into action in the super strong Tata Steel Masters set on Jan. 9 in the Netherlands, where he will face the top GMs in the world, including reigning men's and women's world champions Magnus Carlsen and Hou Yifang.