Turqueza keeps title bid alive at world jr. chess

Filipino  Mari Joseph Turqueza rebounded from a fifth- round loss by whipping Zhuo Ren Lim of Malaysia while Filipina Janelle Mae Frayna failed to sustain her form after losing to Woman Fide Master (WFM) Abigail Romero Echeverria of Ecuador in last Sunday’s sixth round of the SDAT-RAMCO 50th World Junior and 29th Junior Girls Chess Championships in Tamil Nadu, South India.

The San Sebastian College mainstay Turqueza beat the lower-rated Lim to remain in contention in the tough competition organized by the All India Chess Federation and sanctioned by the World Chess Federation.

The win somehow compensated for his fifth- round loss to Udeshi Aditya of India as the Filipino climbed into a share of  51st to 75th places with 3.0 points while Frayna remained at 2.5 points and dropped into a tie for 41st to 53rd spots. Frayna upset Woman International Master (WIM) Emma Guo of Australia in the fifth round.

In the seventh round, Turqueza takes on IM Srinath Narayanan while Frayna battles Maria Gevorgyan of Armenia.

Meanwhile, IM Axel Rombaldoni of Italy continued his winning run by demolishing IM Kacper Piorun of Poland for his sixth straight win and the solo lead in the boys division while Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Olga Girya of Russia settled for a truce with WGM Dyesi T. Cori of Peru to retain the solo lead in the girls class with 5.5 points.

The boy’s division winner is eligible to receive a GM norm while a WGM title will go to the girls’ winner. An additional bonus awaits the gold medalist in the girls event, as she will also receive an IM norm. Players scoring the same number of points as that of the gold medalist will also be eligible for GM or WGM norms. The silver and bronze medalists will get IM / WIM titles, irrespective of the points they score.

The country’s best finish in the tourney was recorded by GM Rogelio “Banjo” Barcenilla Jr. who won the bronze medal during the 1991 event in Mamaia, Romania.