Draw keeps So in hunt
RANGED against one of the world’s top players, Grandmaster Wesley So settled for a draw with Russian GM Vladimir Malakhov on Monday and kept alive his hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals of the World Chess Cup at the Khanty Mansiysk Festival of Arts Center in Russia.
Although playing white, So, 16, agreed to a draw with Malakhov after 65 moves of a Slav Defense. He needs at least a draw with black on Tuesday to forge tiebreak blitz matches that will determine who between them will advance to the last eight.
So opened the game by pushing his queen pawn, and Malakhov responded with the rarely-played Schlecter variation of the Slav Defense, hoping to confuse his young opponent. The game soon took on the well-trodden paths of the Chebanenko variation, an opening Malakhov is very much familiar with.
So maintained a slight advantage up to the endgame, with an active rook and a well-positioned knight at d4. Knowing the importance of the game, So continued to press the action, looking for some breakthrough.
But Malakhov, 29, who has an ELO rating of 2706 to So’s 2640, refused to wilt under pressure and countered with precise moves, eventually forcing a standoff.
Malakhov, a veteran of two world championships and the Under-14 champion back in 1993, will handle white in Game 1, although So proved in his past victories against tough opponents, including GMs Vassily Ivanchuk and Gata Kamsky, that he can hold his own with black.
If Game 2 ends in another draw, two blitz matches will be held to determine the winner.
So is already assured of $35,000 for reaching the fourth round of the event, an integral part of the World Chess Championship cycle for 2009-2011.
Of the seven other matches played Monday, only two games ended decisively, with GM Shakriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan beating Czech GM Victor Laznicka and Russian GM Peter Svidler beating Spanish GM Alexei Shirov.
The rest of the matches were drawn.