Pinoy Nolte finishes 3rd in Kuala Lumpur Masters

Final rankings:

9.0 pts—GM Sergei Tiviakov (Netherlands)

7.5 pts—GM Thomas Luther (Germany)

7.0 pts—IM Rolando Nolte (Philippines)

5.5 pts—GM Niaz Murshed (Bangladesh)

5.0 pts—IM Ramnath Bhuvanesh R. (India), IM Goh Wei Ming (Singapore)

4.5 pts—IM Mas Hafizulhelmi (Malaysia)

4.0 nts—WGM Padmini Rout (India), IM Oliver Dimakiling (Philippines)

International Master Rolando Nolte of the Philippines defeated IM Aleksandar Wohl of Australia in the final round to finish in solo third in the recent DYTM Raja Dr Nazrin Shah Invitational KL Masters 2013 at the Swiss Inn Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Nolte tallied 7.0 points on 5 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss to pocket 4,000 Malaysian ringgit.

Nolte however, missed the chance to get his third and final GM norm as he fell short by half a point in the 11-round tournament after settling for a draw against Woman Grandmaster Padmini Rout of India in the penultimate round. Nolte needed to win his last two rounds to reach 7.5 points and earn his final GM norm.

“Sa last two rounds ay kailangan maipanalo ko ang dalawang laro ko. Tinalo ko sa last round si (IM Aleksandr) Wohl kaso na draw ang laban ko sa penultimate round kay (WGM) Padmini (Rout) na winning pa naman ang posisyon, “ Nolte said.

Top seed GM Sergei Tiviakov of the Netherlands (ELO 2644), who beat Nolte in the 7th round, won the title plus 10,000 Malaysian ringgit after tallying 9.0 points.

GM Thomas Luther of Germany scored 7.5 points good for second worth 6,000 Malaysian ringgit.

Another Filipino entry IM Oliver Dimakiling of Davao City, scored 4.0 points. /Correspondent Marlon Bernardino