MOSCOW, Russia — GM Wesley So was held to a draw by GM Artyom Timofeev of Russia but remained in title contention in the 2010 Aeroflot Open chess tournament at the Hotel Gamma-Delta.

So, seeded 17th with an ELO of 2656, and Timofeev, ranked 20th with ELO of 2652, decided to split the point after the Russian’s 21st move, capturing the Filipino’s pawn on c6 with his knight.

The draw, which he achieved from the black side of the board, enabled So to remain in a tie for sixth to 16th places with 4.5 points, only half a point behind GMs Ian Nepomniachtchi, Boris Savchenko and Boris Grachev, all of Russia, and GMs Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, both of Vietnam.

More importantly, So boosted his chances to capture the top junior award for the second straight year.