Winless in four matches, So plays black vs Indian GM in Round 5

WIJK AAN ZEE, Netherlands — Victory continues to elude Filipino grandmaster Wesley So in the 73rd Tata Steel-Corus Group B chess championships. Four draws in as many rounds may not be an ideal result for So. But the spate of draws should not discourage the Filipino champion from trying even harder in the next rounds. So returns to action after a one-day rest when he takes on GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly of India in one of seven matches in the fifth round at the de Moriaan Community Center here Thursday (Friday in Manila). The 17-year-old campaigner from Bacoor, Cavite, who topped Group C of this prestigious competition two years ago and finished fourth in Group B last year, will play the disadvantaged black pieces against Ganguly. Ganguly, who earned his GM title in the 35th World Chess Olympiad in Slovenia in 2002, is best remembered for his role as a member of the team that helped GM Viswanathand Anand win his world title matches against GM Vladimir Kramnik in 2008 and GM Veselin Topalov in 2010. Last year, So also drew his first five matches in Group B before winning in the sixth and seventh rounds en route to a 3-9-1 win-draw-loss record and 7.5 points for a tie for fourth to fifth places. This year, So drew his first four matches against GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam, GM Garbriel Sargissian of Armenia, GM Jon Ludvig Hammer of Norway and GM Zahar Efimenko of Ukraine. Except for the fourth-seeded Efimenko (ELO 2701), all the three other opponents of So are seeded lower than him in the tough, 14-player, category-17 tournament. Surprise leader GM Luke McShane of England will stake the solo lead when he meets GM Laurent Fressinet of France on the top board. McShane swept his first three assignments before drawing the fourth to take the early lead with 3.5 points. Efimenko, Fressinet, Sargissian and GM David Navara of the Czech Republic share second to fifth places with three points each. Efimenko will battle Navara and Sargissian will meet GM Li Chao in other crucial fifth-round matches in this annual event being held in this tourist-friendly seaside resort town in North Holland. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV