Pinoy IMs Barbosa, Bitoon boost bid for 3rd GM norm

Standings after round 4

4.0 pts. — IM Jahongir Vakhidov (Uzbekistan)

3.5 pts. — IM Oliver Barbosa (Philippines)

3.0 pts. — IM Richard Bitoon (Philippines)

2.5 pts. — GM Tahir Vakhidov (Uzbekistan), IM Arghyadip Das (India)

Filipino  International Masters Oliver Barbosa and Richard Bitoon fortified their bid for a third and final grandmaster norm by crushing their respective fourth round foes yesterday in the DYTM Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah Invitational Masters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Barbosa (3.5 pts.) crushed GM Wong Meng Kong of Singapore while the Medellin, Cebu bet Bitoon (3.0 pts.) nipped IM Nguyen Van Huy of Vietnam.

Barbosa and Bitoon need just one more grandmaster norm to complete their GM status. And they can do that if they score at least 6.5 points in the nine-round tournament.

Meanwhile, IM Jahongir Vakhidov of Uzbekistan subdued IM Mas Hafizulhelmi of Malaysia for his four straight win to keep the solo lead, half a point ahead of Barbosa and a full point ahead of Bitoon.

In the third round, Barbosa drew with GM Tahir while Bitoon defeated GM Anh Dung.

In the Swiss competition, NM Edgar Reggie Olay drew with World Cup qualifier GM Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia to create a 14-way tie for fourth place in the company of fellow 3.0 pointers IM Oliver Dimakiling, IM Yves Ranola, IM Kim Steven Yap and Cris Ian Udani.

IM Nguyen Doc Hoa of Vietnam beat Dimakiling to grab the solo lead with 4.0 points while IM Brian Kelly of Ireland and IM Liu Qingnan of China beat their respective foes to share 2nd to 3rd places with 3.5 points.