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GRANDMASTER Wesley So clinched the title in
Philippine Battle of the GMs with one round to spare Saturday night
at the 11th floor of City State Hotel.
The 14-year-old prodigy,
currently the youngest GM in the world, halved the point with
National Master Oliver Barbosa after 52 moves of Queen’s Indian
Defense in the 10th round to notch his eighth point in the FIDE
rated event organized by the National Chess Federation of the
Philippines (NCFP).
Asia’s first GM Eugene Torre
cut the deficit to just a full point after taking the measure of
International Master Julio Catalino Sadorra in 44 moves of King’s
Indian Defense.
But So’s tiebreak points in
case of a tie would prevail over Torre’s.
Aside from the top prize of
P200,000, So is also expected to gain some more rating points and
inch closer to his bid of reaching the 2600 mark.
So is the top Filipino in the
latest release of FIDE rating chart with an ELO of 2540. His
unofficial rating before the event is 2567 after adding 15 points
from his Dubai Open triumph and 12 more from his 4-2 victory over GM
Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia in their recent one-on-one duel.
GM Mark Paragua is the lone
Filipino to gain super GM status, a feat he accomplished two years
ago.
So will meet IM John Paul Gomez
in the final round while Torre will face GM Joey Antonio.
Gomez and fellow IM Richard
Bitoon shared third place with 6.5 points after beating separate
rivals in the 10th.
Gomez, a two-time national junior
champion, scalped NM Hamed Nouri after 68 moves of Philidors Defense
while Bitoon disposed of NM Rolando Nolte after 50 moves of Sicilian
Defense.
Antonio, who shared second place
with Torre overnight, fell to GM Jayson Gonzales and into solo fifth
spot.
In another penultimate round
encounter, GM Bong Villamayor toppled FM Fernie Donguines after 31
moves of Queen’s Gambit Skirmish
--Noli Cruz
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