Tagaytay Zonal Chess: Wesley So draws with Indon GM, stays in front, Antonio, Galas share limelight

Individual Standings after round 6:

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

5.0 points---GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (Vietnam), GM Wesley So (Philippines)

4.5 points---GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. (Philippines)

4.0 points---GM Susanto Megaranto (Indonesia), IM Bayarsaikhan Gundavaa (Mongolia), GM Darwin Laylo (Philippines), IM Nguyen Doc Hoa (Vietnam), GM Cao Sang (Vietnam)

3.5 points---GM Mark Paragua (Philippines), GM Eugene Torre (Philippines), FM Haridas Pascua (Philippines), GM Rogelio Barcenilla Jr. (Philippines), FM Gombosuren Munkhgal (Mongolia), FM Tran Tuan Minh (Vietnam),

GM Dao Thien Hai (Vietnam), GM John Paul Gomez (Philippines), GM Richard Bitoon (Philippines), IM Nguyen Van Huy (Vietnam)

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

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

4.0 points---Bernadette Galas (Philippines), WIM Medina Warda Aulia (Indonesia), IM Munguntuul Batkhuyag (Mongolia)

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

Tagaytay City---Filipino grandmaster Wesley So battled defending champion GM Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia to a draw in the sixth round Saturday to stay on top along with second seed GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam of the Asian Zone 3.3 Chess Championship here at the Tagaytay International Convention Center.

The 19-year-old So, the country’s highest-ranked player and the tournament’s top seed with an Elo rating of 2682, took a break from his studies at Webster University in the United States to compete in the event hosted by Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino Jr. and the city council, split the point with Megaranto after 51 moves of Slav defense enabled Ngoc Truong Son to keep a share of the lead with a 28 moves demolition against GM Mark Paragua in their Gruenfeld skirmish.

" Mahirap pilitin. Talagang nauwi sa fighting draw eh," said the Bacoor, Cavite native So.

So and Ngoc Truong Son, both tallied five points apiece in the standings after 6 rounds in the nine round tournament offers two slots for this year's World Chess Cup in Tromso, Norway, 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. GM Oliver Barbosa is the only Filipino currently guaranteed a seat in the Cup.

"I'm glad the GM Wesley So is on top together with other Filipino players. The time is ripe for Filipino chess players, through the NCFP, to assert ourselves as one of the, if not the strongest, chess power in Asia." said NCFP Committee chairman on Grassroots development and promotions Neri Javier Colmenares, also party-list representative of Bayan Muna.

12-time national open champion GM Rogelio 'Joey' Antonio Jr. defeated FM Gombosuren Munkhgal of Mongolia after 58 moves of Nimzo-Indian defense to climb at solo third position with 4.5 points.

Megaranto, meantime scored 4.0 points, the same outpot of IM Bayarsaikhan Gundavaa, GM Darwin Laylo of the Philippines, GM Cao Sang and IM Nguyen Duc Hoa of Vietnam.

Gundavaa nipped IM Barlo Nadera after 47 moves of French defense, Laylo halved the point with Duc Hoa after 43 moves of Gruenfeld defense while Cao edged FM Mari Joseph Turqueza after 19 moves of Queens Pawn Game.

Antonio will be up against Ngoc Truong Son in the seventh round scheduled late Sunday, So battles Duc Hoa, Laylo opposite Megaranto and Gundavaa versus Cao.

In the women's division, WGM Nguyen Thi Thanh An of Vietnam settled for a truce with WIM Medina Warda Aulia of Indonesia to keep the lead with 5.0 points. Her sixth round opponent is Bernadette Galas of the Philippines who upset WGM Pham Le Thao Nguyen of Vietnam to climb to a share of second to fourth places with four points.

Galas is tied with Medina and IM Munguntuul Batkhuyag of Mongolia.

The other Filipina campaigners were WIM Catherine Perena (3.0 points), WFM Rulp Ylem Jose (2.0 points), WFM Marie Antoinette San Diego (2.0 points) and Mary Grace Tambasen (half point).        -Marlon Bernardino-