So, Malakhov go to tiebreak

GM Wesley So and GM Vladimir Malakhov of Russia fought to another draw, sending their Last 16 duel into rapid tiebreak matches in the World Chess Cup at the Khanty-Mansiysk Center of Arts in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia Tuesday.

The standoff followed a similar truce in Monday’s opener of their two-game classical game duel with the two players disputing the quarterfinal berth in the tiebreaks set Wednesday.

The winner will face third seed GM Peter Svidler of Russia.

The 16-year-old Filipino champion, who impressed the field with victories over former world championship contender GM Vassily Ivanchuk of Russia and dethroned champion GM Gata Kamsky of the United States, is hardly bothered playing the 22nd-ranked Malakhov (2706) in the tiebreaks.

“Generally speaking, I am okay if the classical games were drawn. Here the tiebreak goes. To my mind I play tiebreaks better than classical games. But my previous opponents did not give me any chance to come to this stage,” So told the official World Cup website in an earlier interview.

National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president/chairman Prospero “Butch” Pichay, who has backed So’s campaign abroad since 2006, also expressed confidence on the Bacoor, Cavite-native’s chances against Malakhov in the rapid matches.

Asked about So’s chances, NCFP secretary-general Mayor Bambol Tolentino and executive/events director Willie Abalos also believed So will keep up his strong showing even against higher-rated opponents.

So, who was earlier hailed by the foreign media as a “perfect positional player who plays in the style of a young Anatoly Karpov,” did not give the white-playing 29-year-old Malakhov any chance to gain initiative in their second game.

A queen exchange on the 22nd, followed by the white bishops three moves later, led to a position that offered little prospects for both sides.

Next up for the winner of the So-Malakhov match is Svidler, who booted out last year’s World Cup runner-up GM Alexei Shirov of Spain, 1.5-0.5.

Aside from Svidler, the other players who safely advanced to the quarters are GMs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbiajan, who eliminated GM Viktor Laznicka of the Czech Republic, 1.5-0.5; and GM Sergey Kariakin of Ukraine, who ousted GM Nikita Vitiugov of Russia by the same score, 1.5-0.5.

Also playing rapid tiebreak matches are top seed GM Boris Gelfand of Israel against GM Maxime Bachier-Lagrave of France, second seed GM Vugar Gashimov of Russia against GM Fabiano Caruana of Italy, GM Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine against GM Etienne Bacrot of France and GM Alexander Grischuk of Russia against GM Dmitry Jakovencko of Russia.