UNSEEDED Morsid Bilao leads the pack after the opening round of the ongoing Roger T. Abella Memorial Open Chess Tournament at the Elizabeth Mall Activity Center yesterday.
Bilao, who is ranked 185th, joined the ranks of top seed Eden Diano, along with second to 10th seeds Rommel Ganzon, FIDE Master Anthony Makinano, Merben Roque, Richard Natividad, Edsel Montoya, National Master (NM) Arnolito Cadiz, Miguel Banibane Jr., Mario Mangubat and Carlos Moreno III as opening round winners.
Bilao led after accumulating 1/2 tie break points for beating an unseeded opponent in the first round. The top 10 pawn pushers of the tournament were not able to get tiebreak points after round one.
Diano defeated Kenny Wilbert Verralo while Ganzon routed Verralo’s brother Kert Welreen. FM Makinano won over John Arvert Cadiz while Natividad edged Fernando Diloy.
Montoya, NM Cadiz, Banibane, Mangubat and Moreno III snatched wins over Jose Adolfo Jr., John Paul Arenilla, James Diloy,Claire Audrey and Julius Endrina, respectively. The second round of the nine-round Swiss system FIDE rated tournament was still being played as of this writing. /CORRESPONDENT DALE G. ROSAL