So places 4th after draw
Grandmaster Wesley So drew with Russian Peter Svidler in 56 moves of a Ruy Lopez to finish fourth Friday, Aug. 13 in the conclusion of the rapid play of the 2021 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz of the Grand Chess Tour.
The reigning world FischerRandom king and two-time United States champion finished tied with Svidler and American Sam Shankland with nine points apiece but wound up with the highest tiebreak score to claim fourth spot.
The 27-year-old So’s campaign was dealt a big blow following a sixth-round defeat at the hands of fellow American Fabiano Caruana.
In all, So finished with a win and seven draws.
Another American in Hikaru Nakamura topped the event 12 points, a point ahead of Caruana and Hungarian Richard Rapport who finished with 11 points.
So hopes to bounce back in the two-part, 18-round blitz section which started yesterday and ends tomorrow.
Points in the rapid section will be carried over into the blitz category.
So finished third in the Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest, Romania and topped the Paris Rapid & Blitz of the GCT.