Gomez nears Chess Olympiad berth

MANILA, Philippines - A day after securing a much-coveted Grandmaster norm, International Master John Paul Gomez is closing in on the championship of Chess Olympiad qualifying tournament. Gomez outclassed National Master Haridas Pascua in the 14th round, then followed that up with a draw against GM Darwin Laylo to move two rounds away from clinching the tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines. “I’ll go all out in the next two rounds," said Gomez, who has accumulated 12.5 points on 10 wins and five draws. The mechanical-engineering major from La Salle needs to pull out all stops against his next opponents: GM Wesley So who is currently in second place with 10.5 points and IM Rolando Nolte. Gomez defeated Pascua in 54 moves of the Sicilian and agreed to a draw with Laylo in 34 moves of the Slav in the matches held at the Kaban ng Hiyas Building in Mandaluyong City. Gomez, who received confirmation of his first GM norm via long-distance call Friday, holds a two-point advantage over So and GM Bong Villamayor with only two rounds remaining. - GMANews.TV