Rizal seizes solo lead in province chess tiff

KALIBO, Aklan , Philippines – Third seed Rizal Province drew with Makati then whipped Laguna, 3.5-0.5, to seize the solo lead in the National Inter-Province chess championship at the Cabagnot Training Center here Wednesday.

Bannered by IM Oliver Barbosa and Gary Legaspi, Rizal held Makati to a 2-2 standoff in the fifth round then outclassed Laguna in the next round to assume the solo lead with10 points in the five-day tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) in cooperation with the Aklan provincial government.

Barbosa bounced back from a shock fifth-round setback to David Elorta of Makati and trounced IM Emmanuel Senador of Laguna to power Rizal Province to the top.

Legaspi defeated Melvin Lumidao, Jose Aquino drew with Edsel Montoya and Ivan Gil Biag halved the point with Raymond Ric de la Peña for Rizal’s other scores against Makati.

Aquino dumped Rodolfo Panopio and Legaspi nipped Alfred Paez to give Rizal three victories against Laguna.

John Orozco salvaged a draw against Biag to avert a shutout for Laguna.

But LWUA Quezon City-A, Boracay-A and Makati stood just a point behind with nine points at second place heading into the last three rounds of the annual event.

LWUA-A, led by GM John Paul Gomez and Merben Roque, drew with Boracay-A, 2-2, and Makati, 2-2.