GM Gomez stays on top, other Pinoys fall

FILIPINO Grandmaster John Paul Gomez defeated Indian International Master Prakash G B in yesterday’s third round to gain a share of the lead with 16 others in the ongoing SDAT-RMK 4th Chennai Open Grand Masters Chess Tournament in Chennai, India.

The win hiked Gomez’s running total to 3.0 points the same output of GMs Aleksej Aleksandrov of Bulgaria, Mikhailo Oleksienko of Ukraine, GM Marat Dzhumaev of Uzbekistan, GM Hoang Thanh Trang of Hungrary, Sethuraman SP, Das Neeolotpal, IMs Venkatesh MR, Thejkumar MS, Himanshu Sharma, Nitin S, Vishnu Prasanna V, Akshayraj Kore, Das Debashis, FM Ghosh Diptayan, Shashikant Kutwal of India and Yu Ruiyuan of China.

“Sana magpatuloy po and swerte natin,” said Gomez the pride of Binan, Laguna.

GM Mark Paragua, meantime, settled for a draw with Ankit R Rajpara to raise his total to 2.5 points in the 150-player tournament. The Meycauayan-Marilao, Bulacan star shares 18th to 51st places.

However, GM Oliver Barbosa failed to continues his winning run after losing to FM Ghosh Diptayan. The Taytay, Rizal native Barbosa remained stuck with 2.0 points and dropped into a tie for 52nd to 126th places in the company of compatriot GM Richard Bitoon.

Bitoon of Medellin, Cebu bounced back in contention after crushing Ajay Krishna S.

In the fourth round, Gomez will face IM Vishnu Prasanna V, Paragua will meet Narayanan S L, Bitoon will battle WIM Dhar-Barua Saheli and Barbosa will play WFM Mahalakshmi M.

The India chess campaign of Gomez, Paragua, Bitoon and Barbosa is supported by National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) Chairman/President Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr., Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Ricardo “Richie” Garcia and Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Jose “Peping” Cojuangco. It is also part of the Philippine Chess Team’s preparation for this year’s 38th World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey.