WIJK AAN ZEE, Netherlands – GM Wesley So settled for a draw with GM Oleg Romanishin of Ukraine to drop to joint second after two rounds in the 71st Corus Chess Tournament at the De Moriaan Community Center here Sunday.
So, who outclassed GM Friso Nijober of the Netherlands in the first round, went out for a win but Romanishin defended well with the black pieces to force the draw in their Ruy Lopez encounter.
“I didn’t force the issue because he also defended well,” said So. “I will just try again next game.”
So now has 1.5 points, half a point behind surprise leader IM Manuel Bosboom of the Netherlands.
Bosboom, seeded only 14th in the 14-player field, toppled Nijober in an all-Dutch showdown in the second round. He earlier shocked second seed GM David Howell of England.
Joining So in second are Romanishin, GM Tiger Hillarp Persson of Sweden, GM Eduardo Iturrizaga of Venezuela, WGM Dronavalli Harika of India and IM Roeland Pruijssers of Netherlands.