Defending champion Wesley So drew with Leiner Dominguez Perez for a share of third place after six rounds in the 2021 US Chess Championships at the Saint Louis Chess Club in Missouri Tuesday.
The 27-year-old So split the point in 37 moves of a Queen’s Gambit Accepted to slightly improve to 3.5 points on one win and five draws in this 11-round tournament.
He tied with Dominguez-Perez and Samuel Sevian and trailed half a point behind co-leaders Ray Robson and Aleksandr Lenderman.
Lenderman and Robson battled to a 46-move deadlock of a Sicilian Defense to stay at joint first with identical 4 points.
Sevian, for his part, caught up with So and Dominguez Perez after stunning top seed and world No. 3 Fabiano Caruana in 42 moves of a Four Knights Game.
So’s other results include a triumph over Dariusz Swiercz in the second round and draws with Lenderman, Lazaro Bruzon Batista, Caruana and Jeffery Xiong.
So’s last five foes are Robson, Sevian, John Burke, Sam Shankland and Daniel Naroditsky.
So is gunning for his second straight crown and third overall with his breakthrough conquest coming four years ago when he bested Alexander Onischuk in a rapid playoff.