So, Karjakin fight to a draw anew : breaking news

by  Joey Villar (philstar.com) 

MANILA, Philippines – Grandmaster Wesley So fought top seed Sergey Karjakin of Russia to another draw, a 26-move standoff of a Nimzo-Indian duel tonight that forced a two-game, time-shortened tiebreaker tomorrow in the round-of-32 of the World Chess Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

Two of the greatest young talents of chess at the moment, So, 17, and Karjakin, 21, will have to conclude their battle in tiebreak games, which allow the two time control of 25 minutes each plus a 10-second increment for every made move.

So and Karjakin split the point in 31 moves of a French Defense in the first game.

It also marked the second time that So was forced to go into the tiebreak after he disposed of Chinese GM Ding Liren, 2.5-1.5.

The winner of the So-Karjakin showdown will play the winner of the equally interesting match between another Russian Sergei Movsesian and Hungarian wonder woman Judit Polgar, who drew their first game and are battling each other at press time.

So is hoping to duplicate, if not surpass, his quarterfinal effort two years ago when he hurdled heavy favorites Gata Kamsky of the US and Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine before losing to Russian Gm Vladimir Malakhov in the quarters.