MANILA, Philippines – Filipino Grand Master (GM) Wesley So continues to share the lead in the 28th Reykjavik Open after defeating GM Marcin Dziuba of Poland in the ninth and penultimate round of the tournament Wednesday in Iceland.

So went for a queen sacrifice in exchange for a rook and a bishop. The move gave him a sharp position and So claimed a winning advantage with an exchange sacrifice.

The sequence finished with a checkmate on move 41 of their Caro-kann defense encounter, with So using the white pieces.

According to National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president and chairman Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr., So broke the 2700 Elo barrier with his win over Dziuba.

“Wesley’s current live rating is 2701.4,” said Pichay, who watched the game through the Internet.

So has a chance to win the Reykjavik title if he defeats GM Pavel Eljanov of Ukraine in the 10th and final round.

The two players currently share the top spot with 7.5 points after Eljanov defeated GM Ding Liren of China using the black pieces.

The Ukranian will have the white pieces when he plays So on Thursday for the championship.

Meanwhile, GM Grzegorz Gajewski of Poland, GM Anish Giri of the Netherlands, GM Ivan Cheparinov of Bulgaria, International Master (IM) Wei Yi of China, GM Gawain Jones of England and GM Bassem Amin of Egypt all share the second spot with 7.0 points.

So’s campaign is backed by the NCFP and serves as a build-up for the 2-13 World Chess Cup in August. -- By Marlon Bernardino