Wesley So agreed to a quick draw with fellow American Hikaru Nakamura to arrange a playoff tiebreaker in the FIDE Grand Prix finals in Berlin, Germany Sunday.
So and Nakamura drew after only 14 moves of a Ruy Lopez Berlin via repetition of moves to force the two tiebreaker matches using rapid time control Monday.
The Cavite-born So is seeking his first title in this three-leg event while Nakamura is eyeing a second crown after reigning supreme in the first leg also staged in Berlin a month ago.
But regardless of the outcome, So would still end up third overall while Nakamura is the uncontested first.
Hungarian Richard Rapport was No. 2 after topping the second leg in Belgrade Serbia also last month.
So came one rung short of claiming the two slots to the Candidates Tournament slated June 16 to July 7 in Madrid, Spain that was staked here.
It went to Nakamura and Rapport.