So grabs solo lead in Tagaytay Asian Zone 3.3 Chess Championship tilt; Ngoc Truong Son in 2nd spot

Round 8 pairings, Monday Board

1: GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. (Philippines) vs GM Wesley So (Philippines) Board

2: GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (Vietnam) vs GM Cao Sang (Vietnam) Board

3: GM Susanto Megaranto (Indonesia) vs GM Mark Paragua (Philippines) Board

4: GM Darwin Laylo (Philippines) vs GM John Paul Gomez (Philippines) Board

5: GM Dao Thien Hai (Vietnam) vs GM Eugene Torre (Philippines) 

Individual Standings after round 7:

Open Division, Nine Round Swiss-System/ 42 player's field

6.0 points--- GM Wesley So (Philippines)

5.5 points--- GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (Vietnam)

5.0 points---GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. (Philippines), GM Cao Sang (Vietnam)

4.5 points---GM Mark Paragua (Philippines), GM Susanto Megaranto (Indonesia), GM John Paul Gomez (Philippines), GM Darwin Laylo (Philippines)

4.0 points---IM Bayarsaikhan Gundavaa (Mongolia), FM Haridas Pascua (Philippines), GM Eugene Torre (Philippines), Michael Gotel (Philippines), FM Munkhgal Gombosuren (Mongolia), IM Nguyen Duc Hoa (Vietnam), FM Mari Joseph Turqueza (Philippines), GM Dao Thien Hai (Vietnam), IM Nguyen Van Huy (Vietnam)

Women Division, Nine Round Swiss-System/ 16 player's field)

6.0 points---WGM Nguyen Thi Thanh An (Vietnam)

4.5 points---WGM Hoang Thi Bao Tram (Vietnam), WIM Nguyen Thi Mai Hung (Vietnam) 

4.0 points---Bernadette Galas (Philippines), WIM Medina Warda Aulia (Indonesia), WGM Pham Le Thao Nguyen (Vietnam), WIM Hoang Thi Nhu Y (Vietnam), IM Munguntuul Batkhuyag (Mongolia), WIM Sihite Chelsie Monica (Indonesia) Tagaytay City---

Filipino Grandmaster (GM) Wes­ley So grabbed the solo lead in the seventh round of the Asian Zone 3.3 Chess Championship following an impressive victory over IM Nguyen Duc Hoa of Vietnam late Sunday at the Tagaytay International Convention Center here.

The 19-year-old So, the country’s highest-ranked player and the tournament’s top seed with an Elo rating of 2682, raised his total to 6.0 points in seven rounds in the event hosted by Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino Jr. and the city council.

Erstwhile co-leader second seed GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam elicited a draw from 12-time national open champion GM Rogelio ' Joey' Antonio Jr., improved his total to 5.5 points for the second spot in the Nine Round Swiss event organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) headed by it's Chairman/President Prospero 'Butch' Pichay Jr. and Secretary-General Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino Jr. which offers two (2) slots for this year's World Chess Cup in Tromso, Norway.

GM Oliver Barbosa is the only Filipino currently guaranteed a seat in the World Cup.

"Inaasahan natin magiging madugo ang labanan sa top five board sa penultimate round ngayong Lunes. Sana Filipino ang manalo para madagdagan ang slot natin sa World Cup," said Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) auditor Prospero 'Butch' Pichay Jr.

"Kapana-panabik ang laban nina GM (Joey) Antonio at GM (Wesley) So ang ating inaasahan," added Asian Zone 3.3 FIDE President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino Jr.

Meanwhile, GM Cao Sang of Vietnam defeated IM Bayarsaikhan Gundavaa of Mongolia to climb 3rd to 4th places with Antonio after tallying identical 5.0 points apiece.

Sharing the fifth to eighth places with 4.5 points each were defending champion GM Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia, GM Mark Paragua, GM John Paul Gomez and GM Darwin Laylo of the Philippines.

Megaranto split the point with Laylo, Paragua edged countryman GM Richard Bitoon and Gomez subdued FM Tran Tuan Minh of Vietnam.

 In the other matches, Michael Gotel dealt Rustum Tolentino and FM Mari Joseph Turqueza crushed Amgalanbaatar Ravdanlkhumbuu of Mongolia.

Top five boards in Monday's eight round, Antonio opposite So, Ngoc Truong Son versus Cao, Megaranto vs Paragua, Laylo vs Gomez and Dao vs Torre.

Meanwhile, the game between US based GM Rogelio Barcenilla Jr. against GM Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam, IM Nguyen Van Huy of Vietnam against FM Munkhgal Gombosuren of Mongolia, GM Eugene Torre against FM Haridas Pascua, IM Barlo Nadera against Nelson 'Elo' Mariano III and IM Farid Firman Syah of Indonesia against FM Paulo Bersamina ended into a fighting draw.

In the women's division, WGM Nguyen Thi Thanh An of Vietnam defeated Bernadette Galas of the Philippines after 34 moves of Sicilian defense, dragon variation to keep the lead with 6.0 points.

Galas who upset WGM Pham Le Thao Nguyen of Vietnam in the sixth round remained at four points, the same score of WIM Medina Warda Aulia and WIM Sihite Chelsie Monica of Indonesia, WGM Pham Le Thao Nguyen and WIM Hoang Thi Nhu Y of Vietnam, IM Munguntuul Batkhuyag of Mongolia.

WGM Hoang Thi Bao Tram and WIM Nguyen Thi Mai Hung of Vietnam, both tallied 4.5 points apiece for second and third places. -Marlon Bernardino-