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INTERNATIONAL Master John Paul Gomez defeated NM Haridas Pascua in
the 14th round and then drew with GM Darwin Laylo in the next round
to virtually capture the title in the 2008 National Chess Federation
of the Philippines (NCFP) qualifying tournament at the Kaban ng
Hiyas Building in Mandaluyong City.
Gomez, a three-time national junior champion,
beat Pascua in 54 moves of the Sicilian and halved the point with
Laylo in 34 moves of the Slav.
The 22-year-old Gomez, a mechanical engineering
student at De La Salle University, opened up another commanding
two-point lead over closest pursuers GM Wesley So and GM
Buenaventura “Bong” Villamayor with only two rounds remaining in
this prestigious tournament organized by the NCFP and hosted by
the Mandaluyong City government.
Overall, Gomez has 12 points on 10 wins and five
draws.
“Laban pa rin. I’ll go all-out in the next
two rounds,” said Gomez.
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