Gomez, Paragua, Barbosa 2nd in Vietnam

Individual Standings (Round 6):

5.0 pts — GM Parimarjan Negi (India)

4.5 pts — GM John Paul Gomez (Philippines), IM Liu Qingnan (China), GM Yu Yangyi (China), GM Ding Liren (China), GM Oliver Barbosa (Philippines), GM Salem A R Saleh (UAE), GM Mark Paragua (Philippines), GM Lu Shanglei (China)

4.0 pts — GM Le Quang Liem (Vietnam), Wan Yunguo (China), Yu Ruiyuan (China), GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (Vietnam), GM Wesley So (Philippines)

FILIPINO Grandmasters Mark Paragua and Oliver Barbosa beat their respective 6th round rivals yesterday to share second place with compatriot GM John Paul Gomez in the 11th Asian Continental Individual Chess Championships in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Paragua nipped GM Abhijeet Gupta of India, Barbosa trounced GM Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia while Gomez split the point with GM Ding Liren of China. The three tallied 4.5 points each, the same output of GMs Yu Yangyi, Lu Shanglei and IM Liu Qingnan of China and GM Salem A R Saleh of UAE.

GM Parimarjan Negi of India defeated former solo leader Yu to grab the solo lead with 5.0 points.

The country’s No. 1 GM Wesley So meanwhile, remained in contention after beating GM Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam to raise his total to 4.0 points along with GMs Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam, Wan Yunguo and Yu Ruiyuan of China.

The event is a qualification tournament for the World Chess Cup, formerly known as the FIDE World Chess Championships.