GM So nears 4th Battle of GMs diadem

Standings after round 11

8.0 – GM Wesley So

7.0 – IM Oliver Barbosa, GM Eugene Torre

6.5 – GM Rogelio Antonio Jr., GM Darwin Laylo, GM Joseph Sanchez, IM Richard Bitoon

5.5 – GM Mark Paragua, IM Rolando Nolte

4.5 – GM John Paul Gomez, GM Rolando Barcenilla

4.0 – IM Jan Emmanuel Garcia

3.0 – GM Roland Salvador

2.0 – IM Yves Ranola

GRANDMASTER Wesley So chose to play it safe against GM Mark Paragua yesterday and agreed to a 31-move draw with the latter to erect a full-point lead after 11 rounds of the National Chess Championships: 4th Battle of the Grandmasters at the National Press Club in Manila.

“Mark is a dangerous opponent. Hindi ka p’wedeng maging sobrang agresibo against him,” said So, the tournament’s three-time defending champion who raised his tally to 8.0 points.

But the 17-year-old is not out of the woods yet especially with the way GM Eugene Torre is playing.

Torre, Asia’s first Grandmaster, beat Cebuano International Master Richard Bitoon to gain a share of second place with IM Oliver Barbosa with 7.0 points. Torre won after a marathon 69-move duel of a London System Opening but admits catching up with So is wishful thinking with only two more rounds remaining in the cash-rich event.

“Medyo mahirap na habulin si Wesley dahil two rounds to go na lang, but I will give it a try,” said Torre.

Barbosa earlier drew with GM Darwin Laylo after 31 moves of Queen’s Gambit Accepted.

The loss dropped Bitoon to a share of fourth to seventh spots with Laylo and GMs Rogelio Antonio and Joseph Sanchez with 6.5 points.

Antonio drew with IM Jan Emmanuel Garcia after 58 moves of English Opening while Sanchez also drew with GM John Paul Gomez after 45 moves of Slav Defense.

In other matches, IM Yves Ranola stunned GM Rogelio Barcenilla Jr. after 22 moves of Sicilian while IM Rolando Nolte downed GM Roland Salvador after 63 moves of Caro Kann.

In the distaff side, defending champion Woman FIDE Master Rulp Ylem Jose toppled WFM Marie Antoinette San Diego in the ninth round on Thursday to pull away with 8.0 points.

Jose, an MBA student at FEU-Makati, is 1.5 points ahead of her closest pursuer with two rounds to go.