Paragua rips Viet GM, seizes Zonal lead

Grandmaster MarK Paragua defended well with the black pieces and completed a stunning upset win over top seed GM Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam yesterday to grab the solo lead after five rounds of the Zone 3.3 (East Asia Zone) Championships at Stanford Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The victory came after Paragua, the country’s newest GM, halved the point with veteran GM Utut Adianto of Indonesia in the fourth round Monday, hiking his output to 4.5 points halfway through the 9-round Swiss system event where the top two finishers will represent the region in the World Championship.

That was half-a-point ahead of another Vietnam GM Nguyen Anh Dung, Fide Master Tirto and Adianto.

Round 6 is being played at presstime with Paragua taking on Anh Dung, hoping to sustain his form with the white pieces and firm up his bid for another stint in the world tilt.

Four other Filipinos remain in the hunt for one of the two world championship berths, including GMs Joey Antonio and Nelson Mariano II, and IM Jayson Gonzales and National Master Oliver Barbosa.

Antonio, enjoying one of his finest seasons back home and abroad, was held to a third straight draw, this time by Adianto as he led the 3.5-point scorers who included IM Wynn Zaw Htun, Singapore GM Wong Meng-kong, Gonzaels, Mariano and Barbosa.

Mariano, who beat Wong in the fourth round, settled for a draw with Zaw Htun, while Gonzales and Barbosa agreed to split the point to stay in contention heading into the last four rounds of the annual event topped by IM Ronald Dableo last year.