So plays Russian ex-world champ to 71-move draw

MANILA, Philippines – Wesley So battled former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia to a marathon 71-move draw of a Guioco Piano to remain half a point off the pace after three rounds of the 5th Norway Chess 2017 in Stavanger-region, Norway Thursday night.

Kramnik, who reigned as Classical champ from 2000 to 2006, sacrificed a pawn in the opening to seize control of the seventh rank and gain kingside counterplay. But So held his own and returned the pawn to extract the draw.

It was So’s third straight split after he also halved the point with reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen and French Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the first two rounds.

The draw kept So stranded at No. 3 in the world rankings with a live rating of 2812 while Kramnik stayed at No. 2 with 2812.4.

Carlsen is No. 1 with 2830.7.

It also kept So in a huge logjam at third spot with 1.5 points, or half a point behind co-leaders Kramnik and the former’s United States teammate Hikaru Nakamura, who drew with Carlsen, with two points apiece, as all five third round games ended in a draw.

So is bunched with Carlsen, Vachier-Lagrave, Armenian Levon Aronian, Fabiano Caruana of the US and Russian Sergey Karjakin.

The Cavite-born, Minnetonka, Minnesota-based chesser shoots for his first win as he clashes with Karjakin in today’s fourth round.

The nine-round event took a break Friday.