Wesley So brought down former world champion Vishwanathan Anand of India in Armageddon play to stay unbeaten in the Norway Chess tournament in Stavanger Saturday.
The Cavite-born So cashed in on his chances while Anand could not take advantage of his opportunities after 46 moves of an English duel.
The two drew their classical game in 14 moves of yet another English Opening to force the tiebreaker that the two-time United States champion won.
It was the fourth straight match win for So in as many rounds but despite his unbeaten record, he fell to third place from second the previous round.
So only gained 1.5 points from his recent win to improve to 7.5, which was only good enough for No. 3 in this tournament that rewards three points for a win in classical, 1.5 points for a win in Armageddon and a point for a loss also in Armageddon.
Anand stayed at the helm as he gained one point despite the loss to hike his total to 8.5 points.
Reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen caught up to Anand at No. 1 after dropping Dutch Anish Giri in their standard showdown.
Nonetheless, it was another strong effort for So as he also beat Azerbaijan’s Teimur Radjabov, Carlsen and Giri in the first three rounds to emerge the only player in this 10-player tournament to remain undefeated.
So clashes with Azeri Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who is currently at solo fourth with seven points, in the fifth round Sunday.