The third-ranked Bitoon downed National Master Rolando Nolte, and shared the lead with four points with two unheralded bets who ambushed their higher-ranked opponents.
National Master Arlan Cabe and 16-year old NM Oliver Barbosa kept pace with Bitoon, following their upset victories over FIDE Master Fernie Donguines and IM Jayson Gonzales, respectively, going into the fifth round of the 11-round event organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and sponsored by Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.
The tournament, which serves as the qualifying tournament for the rapid chess event in the Vietnam SEA Games, is also being held in cooperation with Reyes Haircutters through its CEO and president Les Reyes.
Seeded 13th, the 30-year old Cabe gained the tempo in a complicated middlegame after Donguines spent precious time re-positioning his king. This allowed Cabe enough time to marshall his minor pieces for an all-out assault. In a tense endgame battle, Donguines blinked and lost a pawn, allowing Cabe to escape with the win in their Stonewall Attack encounter.<