GMs Paragua, Barbosa pace India chess meet

FILIPINO chess Grandmasters Oliver Barbosa, Mark Paragua and John Paul Gomez beat their respective foes yesterday to open their respective title bids on a high note in the SDAT-RMK 4th Chennai Open Grand Master Chess Tournament in Chennai, India.

The Taytay, Rizal native Barbosa subdued Gur Azikri in the first round then toppled Pratik Patil in the second.

The Marilao-Meycauyan, Bulacan star Paragua dismantled Kumar Atul and PC Iyer Akash, respectively while Gomez of Binan, Laguna trounced G Apurva and Ja Gireman.

Their participation is supported by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).

The three shared 1st to 56th places in the huge group of perfect 2.0 pointers that includes top seed GM Aleksej Aleksandrov of Bulgaria.

“It’s a good start for Oliver, Mark and John Paul, I hope they can perform well in the India chess meet,” said NCFP Chairman/President Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr.

However, it was not all rosy for the Philippine campaign after Grandmaster Richard Bitoon was upset in the second round.

“Hope makabawi naman sa third round si Richard,” said Pichay.

The Medellin, Cebu native Bitoon, beat VS Rathanvel in the opening round but yielded to Divyasree Chandika in the second.

In the third round, Barbosa goes up against FM Ghosh Diptayan; Paragua battles Ankit R Rajpara; Gomez faces IM Prakash GB while Bitoon plays Ajay Krishna S.

The India chess tournament is part of the Philippine Team ‘s preparations for this year’s 38th World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey.