Asian Club Chess: Tagaytay-RP inches closer on top
12/31/2008 05:54 PM
MANILA, Philippines – Grandmaster Wesley So was at his usual self, while GMs John Paul Gomez and Darwin Laylo crushed separate opponents as Tagaytay-RP pounced on a hapless Club Intchess of Singapore, 3.5-0.5, in Wednesday’s sixth round of the 2008 Asian Club Cup at the Al Ain Chess Center in the United Arab Emirates.
Their sixth round demolition of Singapore allowed them to join China’s Qi Yuan Club from second to third places with 10 points each. More importantly, the fourth-seeded Filipinos trimmed into half leader Al Ain’s lead (11).
So defeated GM Bui Vinh, Gomes outsmarted Julio Catalino Sadorra while Laylo trounced Peter Long as the Tagaytay-backed Philippine team earned a win that could swing momentum to their favor entering Thursday’s final round.
International Master Tirto prevented what could have a shutout win for Philippines when he held GM Mark Paragua to a draw on board three.
Tagaytay-RP faces a tough challenge in the final round when they meet fellow second placer Qi Yuan.
Top seed and tournament host Al Ain Chess Club of UAE, which is led by GMs Sergey Karjakin and Zahar Efimenko of Ukraine, remains on top with five wins and a draw.
So’s remains in contention of earning the board one gold after moving to fourth place with an 83.3 percent performance rating with five points after six games. – GMANews.TV
So!