WIJK AAN ZEE, Netherlands — After a pair of victories in the sixth and seventh rounds, grandmaster Wesley So drew his eighth-round game in the 72nd Corus chess tournament at the De Moriaan Community Centre over the weekend here.

So and fellow GM Ni Hua of China halved the point after only17 moves of the Sicilian Maroczy Bind. They also drew their game the last time they played four years ago in Manila.

Match-wise, So enjoys a 2-1 lead over Ni in their three meetings.

The draw left both So and the fourth-seeded Ni (ELO 2657) in a three-way tie for second to fourth places with GM Erwin l’Ami of the Netherlands with an eight-round total of five points.

The three, however, are now one and a half points behind solo leader GM Anish Giri of the Netherlands with only five rounds remaining in the category-16 group B.

Giri, the 15-year-old Nepal-born champion who now plays for the Netherlands, outduelled GM David Howell of England in 40 moves of the Gruendfeld to rai his score to 6.5 points on five wins and three draws.