So draws with Ding in first semis duel

MANILA, Philippines – Grandmaster Wesley So couldn’t find anything out of a slight positional advantage and settled for a fighting 47-move draw of a Giuoco Piano against Ding Liren in the first of their two-game semifinal duel in the FIDE World Chess Cup in Tbilisi, Georgia Tuesday night.

The second-seeded So and Ding equalized early, but the former slowly but surely found a way for counter play with a kingside pawn barrage. This would have materialized with an exchange sacrifice on the 41st, or just right after the first time control.

But the Cavite-born, Minnetonka, Minnesota-based So played a king move instead, allowing Ding to force a draw via perpetual check.

As of posting time, So — who made it through by knocking out Russian Vladimir Fedoseev in the quarters — was playing black against Ding — who booted out Hungarian Richard Rapport — in their second and final standard duel.

The other semis showdown pitting fifth seed Levon Aronian of Armenia with eighth pick Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France also wound up in a split in 32 moves of a Gruenfeld Defense.

The four are fighting for two berths in the Candidates Matches with the winner bagging the top purse worth US$120,000.