Filipino, Georgian lead Singapore Masters chess

Filipino grandmaster-candidate Oliver Dimakiling extended his remarkable start by racking up two more victories over his Chinese opponents and grabbing a share of the lead with second seed GM Zurab Azmaiparashvili of Georgia in the third round of the 4th Singapore Masters International Open chess tournament. Dimakiling, ever so eager to redeem himself from a lackluster showing in three major international tournaments back home, whipped No. 20 seed Chen Li of China in the second round and No. 18 Yunguo Wan of China in third round. He's now on the level of Azmaiparashvili with a perfect score of three points, the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) said on Tuesday. The former De La Salle University standout won his first round assignment against woman grandmaster Anya Korke of Hong Kong. Azmaiparashvili, the second highest-rated player with an ELO of 2606, matched Dimakiling's perfect record by downing No. 14 WGM Li Ruofan of Singapore and No. 13 IM Enrique Paciencia of the Philippines. GM-candidate Julio Catalino Sadorra also made his presence felt as he trounced woman international master Irine Sukandar of Indonesia and No. 43 FIDE master Graham Chua Xing Jian of Singapore to move up to a share of third to eighth places with 2.5 points. Sadorra, the Singapore-based Filipino campaigner who earned his first GM norm during the Prospero Pichay Cup chess tournament held in Manila earlier in December, was held to a draw by Daniel Chan of Singapore in the opening round. The impressive showing of Dimakiling and Sadorra more than made up for the heartbreaking losses suffered by GM Mark Paragua, IM Jayson Gonzales and IM-candidate Rolando Andador in the second round and Paciencia in the third round. Paragua, one of eight GMs seeing action in this tough, nine-round tournament, bowed to Yunguo Wan of China in the second round but won over Corke in the third round. Gonzales, who is hoping to become the third Filipino player to earn a GM title this year, lost to No. 22 Shen Siyuan of China in the second round but won over No. 33 Haoxiang Jia of Chian in the third round. Actually, Paciencia created the biggest noise in the second round when he pulled the rug from under third seed GM Chanda Sandipan of India. But the Singapore-based chess instructor failed to sustain the momentum and lost to Azmaiparashvili in the following round. Paragua, Gonzales, and Paciencia have two points apiece in a heavy 11-way tie for ninth to 19th places. Andador also split his two matches for the day, wining over No. 42 Jonathan Kho of Singapore in the second round and losing to top seed GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore in the third round. The pride of Talisay City, who earned an IM result in the recent President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Cup chess tournament, succumbed to No. 10 seed GM Wu Shaobin of China in the opening round. Standings after three rounds 3 points O. Dimakiling (RP), Z. Azmaiparashvili (Georgia) 2.5 points J. Sadorra (RP), D.T. Hai (Vietnam), S. Siyuan (China), W. Li (China), P.D. Grintah (India), R. Laxman (India), 2 points M. Paragua (RP), J. Gonzales (RP), E. Paciencia (RP), Z. Zhong (Singapore), C. Sandipan (India), S. Megaranto (Indonesia), S. Wu (Singapore), R. Li (Singapore), N. A. Dung (Vietnam), C. Li (China), Y. Wan (China)

- GMANews.TV