Big guns blitz way in crucial matches

Standings after 13 rounds:

Men’s: Torre, Paragua, Rocca 9 points; Villamayor, Antonio 8.5; Mariano, Garma 8; Gomez 7.5; Bancod, Ranola, Nadera 6; Sanchez 5.5; Barbosa 4.5; Milagrosa 3.5; Merelos, Sumngat 2.5.

After 12 rounds:

Women’s: Mendoza 8; Lomibao 8.5; Cruz 7.5; Castellano, Mariano 7; Joya, Cua, Espallardo 6.5; Toledo 5; Torres 4.5; Castro, Dela Cruz, Abanes 4; Rivera 3.5.

The 13th round of the National Chess Championship finals will come down in local chess history as the fightingest round ever, with all 16 players in all eight boards slugging it out as the tournament nears its conclusion.

After the smoke of battle cleared, the tournament favorites and the higher seeds emerged as clear winners, and the standings again undergone a major revamp going into the last three rounds of the tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and hosted by Lex Development Corp.

The carnage was led by no less than the country’s three Grandmasters - Eugene Torre, Joey Antonio and Bong Villamayor.

Up against a promising 15-year old prodigy in two-time national junior champion NM John Paul Gomez, Torre relied on his years of experience and vast knowledge of the Ruy Lopez to win after 58 moves. Antonio disposed of NM Elmer Sumngat, winning in 50 moves of a 45 moves of a Reti, while Villamayor outsteadied NM Yves Ranola in 79 of another Reti.

IM Mark Paragua took a 54-move win over NM Alex Milagrosa. So did NM Petronio Roca over IM Barlo Nadera after 41 moves of a Gruenfeld, also kept him on track for the top three places.