Vietnamese chess star Le Quang Liem Wednesday finished the first stage at the ongoing SPICE Cup in the US with a draw against the Filipino rival. This is his fifth draw in a row since the beginning of the tournament. The international super grandmaster failed to converted the advantage of playing white to a win as his rival this time was the leading player Wesley So (Elo 26700). The Filipino, together with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, is leading the tally with 3 points, while Liem and Ding Liren are in the group 2 with 2.5 points after five draws. Georg Meier and Csaba Balogh, each earns 2 points, are at the bottom. The 2012 Spice Cup runs from October 12 to 21 at St. Louis, with the participation of six top players of the world’s top 100. Liem was seeded second after France’s Maxime Vachier – Lagrave (Elo 2075), while the remaining opponents are Ding Liren (China, 2702); Csaba Balogh (Hungary, 2664); Wesley So (the Philippines, 2677), and Georg Meier (Germany, 2646). Liem is the defending champion at the event, though this is only the second time he joined.