Philippines, 08 Jan 2026
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


TATA STEEL CHESS: SO DRAWS WITH NAKAMURA IN 2ND ROUND


PhilBoxing.com




MANILA, Philippines -- FILIPINO Grandmaster Wesley So (ELO 2719) found American GM Hikaru Nakamura (2789) tough to crack and settled for a draw in the second round of the super-tough Category A of the 76th Tata Steel Tournament Masters in Wijk Aan Zee, the Netherlands on Sunday (Monday morning in Manila time).

So, the 20-year-old finance business sophomore at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, the top player of National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) Chairman/President Prospero "Butch" Pichay Jr. and Secretary-General Cavite Rep. Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino Jr., and Nakamura agreed to halve to the point after 27 moves of Semi-Slav Defense using the white pieces to raise his total to 1.5 points and create a five-way tie for first.

So had five pawns, queen, two bishops and a knight while Nakamura had five pawns, queen, two knights and a bishop.

"Wesley and Hikaru played for the first time and it finished in a draw," said National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) Chairman/President Prospero "Butch" Pichay Jr. who watched the games live through ChessBomb website.

Bunched at 1.5 points with So are Nakamura, top seed GM Levon Aronian of Armenia (2803), GM Sergey Karjakin of Russia (2756) and GM Anish Giri of the Netherlands(2737).

Aronian defeated GM Fabiano Caruana of Italy (2782) after 58 moves of English Symmetrical, Karjakin drew with GM Pentala Harikrishna of India (2708) after 40 moves of Queen's Gambit Declined and Giri outclassed GM Arkadij Naiditsch of Germany (2737) after 33 moves of Bogo Indian Defense.

In other matches, GM Richard Rapport (ELO 2691) of Hungrary, who lost to So in the first round on Saturday, bounced back in contention after crushing GM Boris Gelfand (2777) of Israel after 60 moves of Budapest Defense Main Line while GM Leinier Dominguez of Cuba (2754) split the point with GM Loek Van Wely of the Netherlands (2678) after 26 moves of Sicilian Early Fianchetto skirmish.-Marlon Bernardino-


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Marlon Bernardino.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • Canoy banking on his ring experience against Kuse
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Thu, 08 Jan 2026
  • Undefeated Kansas Middleweight Prospect Marco “El Tiburon” Romero finished 2025 with 7th triumphs, all by knockout, & 11-0 record
    , Thu, 08 Jan 2026
  • Kinetix Sports aims for bigger events in 2026
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Thu, 08 Jan 2026
  • 2026 Santa Maria Town Fiesta Chess Challenge on January 26
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Thu, 08 Jan 2026
  • World Ranked Heavyweight Dainier Pero Headlines on Saturday, January 17th at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia
    , Wed, 07 Jan 2026
  • Jahyae Brown to Battle Arnold Gonzalez in Exciting Co-Feature on Thursday, January 15th at The War Memorial in Trenton, New Jersey
    , Wed, 07 Jan 2026
  • Hendri Cedeno Seeks Monumental Victory Against Alfredo Santiago for NABO Title January 10 at Barclays Center
    , Tue, 06 Jan 2026
  • Kingsley Ibeh learned from his Loss 5 years ago to Jared Anderson
    , Tue, 06 Jan 2026
  • Unified World Cruiserweight Champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez returning to Corpus Christi…as a promoter!
    , Tue, 06 Jan 2026
  • Ocum to fight Ballesteros on January 26
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Mon, 05 Jan 2026
  • SEA Plus Youth Games - Tolentino
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Mon, 05 Jan 2026
  • 87th Kalilangan Chess Festival Featuring Manny Pacquiao International Open to Push Through
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Mon, 05 Jan 2026
  • Deniega to fight Oka in Japan
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Fri, 02 Jan 2026
  • Illness forces Paddy Donovan to withdraw from IBF Welterweight World Eliminator January 16 versus Liam Paro in Australia
    , Fri, 02 Jan 2026
  • Canadian World Cruiserweight Contender Ryan Rozicki returning to ring March 7th
    , Thu, 01 Jan 2026
  • Lover Boy on hot streak
    By Joaquin Henson, , Wed, 31 Dec 2025
  • Silvano fights Gurung on January 13 in Hong Kong
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Wed, 31 Dec 2025
  • GM Laylo faces tough competition in Caloocan rapid chess
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Wed, 31 Dec 2025
  • GOLDEN BOY DELIVERS A LOADED UNDERCARD OF STAR PROSPECTS FOR ROCHA VS. CURIEL II
    , Wed, 31 Dec 2025
  • Arca wins silver in Eastern Asian Juniors Chess Championships 2025
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Wed, 31 Dec 2025
  • Donaire awaits WBA order
    By Joaquin Henson, , Tue, 30 Dec 2025
  • Anthony Joshua injured in car crash in Nigeria
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Tue, 30 Dec 2025
  • Sampson Boxing Signs Red Hot Middleweight Vito Mielnicki Jr to Exclusive Promotional Contract
    , Tue, 30 Dec 2025
  • Undefeated Carl Jammes Martin Plots Next Move as New Year Unfolds
    , Mon, 29 Dec 2025
  • Alvin Gayeta Roma leads Mansa Engineering Consultancy Team B to rule New York Chess Academy Team Tournament; pockets P100,000
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Mon, 29 Dec 2025




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2026 philboxing.com.