GM PARAGUA tied at 8TH IN UAE

FILIPINO Grandmaster Mark Paragua (ELO 2533) subdued Iranian FM Nima Javanbakht (ELO 2406 ) in the ninth and final round to finish tied for 8th to 15th places in the Al Ain Classic 2012 Chess Classic held from Dec. 22-28, 2012 at the Al Ain Culture and Chess Club in United Arab Emirates.

The Tondo, Manila born Paragua scored 6.0 points in 9 rounds. Other Filipino entries IM Emmanuel Senador (ELO 2352) and IM Oliver Dimakiling (ELO 2453) settled for 16th to 23rd places with 5.5 points.

GM Edouard Romain (ELO 2686) and GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (ELO 2711) of France shared the top honors with 7.0 points each. /Correspondent Marlon Bernardino