Chess World Cup R4: So-Malakhov a cute draw, Ivanchuk changes his mind

Perhaps the most competitive game Wesley So ever encounter since the first round game 2 loss against Guseinov. I thought White looks pretty solid in the opener but black, according to Peter Doggers of ChessVibes: "Malakhov’s drawing combination was cute."

The best draw was So-Malakhov; a Slechter / Chebanenko hybrid that was slightly better for White all the time, but in the ending there was no way to make progress. Malakhov’s drawing combination was cute.

Kind of thinking why the two players wasted a lot of energy when it was obvious that the game is going nowhere a few moves after the 3oth. Wesley avoided the possible perpetual in the 53rd and that might probably irked the pride of Malakhov and probably the reason why the two battle it all out till the end.

In the meantime, constructive criticism works well for Vassily Ivanchuk. As we have predicted earlier, he has taken back his words of quitting chess after a sudden outburst in post game interview following the defeat he suffered at the brain of Wesley So in Round 2. Ivanchuk should thank Kamsky that he'll still keep his job.

Here's the English translation of the letter:

Please forgive me, my fans, friends and colleagues in arms and many chess fans for an emotional interview. I was very upset after the defeat, but in any case I’m not going to quit chess! And I want to refute what appeared in the media about my resignation…

Sincerely, Vassily Ivanchuk

Ivanchuk never mentioned to whom he was defeated but anyway, apologies accepted Chukky.

Replay of So-Malakhov game 1 with GM commentary