FILIPINO chess grandmaster (GM) Mark Paragua defeated Indon international master (IM) Tirta Chandra Purnama in Wednesday’s Round 2 to create a four way tie for first in the 2011 Asian Zone 3.3 chess championships at the Tagaytay International Convention Center.
Paragua, fresh from winning the NCFP standard play and blitz competition, won with white to hike his score to 2.0 points, the same output of compatriots GM Darwin Laylo and IM Oliver Barbosa and IM Nguyen Van Huy of Vietnam.
Laylo routed Tong Thai Hung of Vietnam, Barbosa toppled FM Tin Jingyao of Singapore while Van Huy upset GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore.
In the third round, Paragua goes up against Barbosa while Laylo faces Van Huy.
Meanwhile, 12-time national open champion GM Joey Antonio Jr. stopped countryman FM Haridas Pascua to lead a huge group of 1.5 pointers that include GM John Paul Gomez, IMs Oliver Dimakiling, Rolando Nolte and Richard Bitoon of the Philippines, GMs Susanto Megaranto and Cerdas Barus of Indonesia, GMs Cao Sang, Nguyen Anh Dung, IM Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy, and FM Nguyen Duc Hoa of Vietnam, and IM Weiming Goh of Singapore.