Grandmaster Wesley So scored three points in the sixth to 10th round to stay half a point behind a pace-setting reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen in the Opera Euro Rapid of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Monday, Feb. 8.
The 27-year-old So was tied at second with Dutch Anish Giri with 6.5 points behind Carlsen, who cruised to the top with seven points after beating American Hikaru Nakamura in the 10th round.
So started Day 2 by thumping fellow United States bet Sam Shankland before losing to another American in Leiner Dominguez Perez. He bounced back in Round 8 by turning back Jan-Krzysztof Duda of Poland before splitting the point with Russian Alexander Grischuk and Dutch Anish Giri.
In opening day of the $100,000 tournament, So posted 3.5 points highlighted by a victory with reigning world champion Carlsen
So’s last five foes in the elimination round are Nakamura, Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi, Azeri Teimour Radjabov, Indian Santosh Gujrathi Vidit and Chinese World No. 3 Ding Liren.
Nepomniachtchi is currently at No. 4 with six points while Armenian Levon Aronian, French Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Radjabov were at fifth to seventh with 5.5 points each.
In quarterfinal contention were Russian Alexander Grischuk, Duda and Nakamura with five points apiece.
So, the world Fischer Random titlist, hopes to keep his place in the top eight to advance to the quarters on Wednesday.
He has never missed the playoff round after topping the Skillings Open with a shock win over Carlsen in November last year in the finals and finishing in the quarters of the Airthings Masters last month before losing to Vachier-Lagrave.