Pinoy ties for 1st in Philadelphia chess

FILIPINO Rene Ancheta defeated American Raynard Simmons in the ninth and final round to finish tied for first place in the 39th Annual World Open Chess Championships last July 4 at the Sheraton Philadelphia in Race Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

The Makati City pride Ancheta, who is currently based in Chicago, tallied 7.5 points, the same output of Aaron Jing, Arnold Fuchs, Aakaash Meduri and Robby Hecht in the Expert Division.

All of them received $5,521.60.

However, after the tie break was applied, Jing took the title, Fuchs settled for second while Ancheta landed at 3rd place. Fourth to 5th spots went to Meduri  and Hecht.

In the Open section, American GM Gata Kamsky edged England’s GM Michael Adams by virtue of winning a five-minute vs three-minute Armageddon game to claim the 2011 World Open Champion title.

Kamsky and Adams, both tallied 7.0 points in nine outings and received $14,575 each. /Correspondent MARLON BERNARDINO