Gomez upends Chinese IM

MANILA, Philippines - Dresden Olympiad sensation John Paul Gomez carried the fight for host Philippines, pulling off an ego-boosting win over IM Yu Lie of China in the seventh round of the sixth Prospero Pichay Cup international chess championship at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

With fellow national team mainstay Darwin Laylo falling by the wayside, Gomez played superbly with the white pieces and hammered out a decisive win to move into contention with five points on four wins, two draws and only one loss.

 Gomez, seeded sixth with an Elo rating of 2527, is tied for fourth to sixth places with GM Merab Gagunashvili and unheralded David Elorta.

The three players are also only half a point behind co-leaders GM Anton Filippov of Uzbekistan, GM Murtas Kazhgaleyev of Kazakhstan and GM Tamaz Gelashvili of Georgia with still two rounds left in this $30,000-tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) in cooperation with the Philippine Sports Commission, Local Water Utilities Administration, PCSO and Pagcor.

Gomez drew with Laylo in the sixth round late Tuesday.

Elorta, a surprise performer in the 46-player field, toppled IM Oliver Dimakiling in an all-Filipino battle to stay within striking distance for the $6,000 top prize.

Filippov drew with Gelashvili in the sixth round and Gagunashvili in the seventh round to keep a share of the lead.

Kazhgaleyev halved the point with Gagunashvili in the sixth round and then outduelled Laylo the following round to forge a three-way tie for the lead with Filippov and Gelahsvili.

Five players, led by WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan of Iran and IM Sadikin Irwanto of Indonesia, shared seventh to 11 th places with 4.5 points.

Pourkashiyan, one of two female participants, whipped Reggie Olay in the sixth round and Emmanuel Senador in the seventh round to move up in the overall standings.

Irwanto, one of three Indonesians in the field, drew his matches against IM Yu Lie of China and compatriot IM Roy Saptahrashi to keep his hopes alive.

Little-known Merben Roque upset IM Yves Ranola to improve to 4.5 points.

In other notable results, GM Jayson Gonzales dumped IM Taufik Halay of Indonesia, GM Kivanc Haznedaroglu of Turkey humbled Rhobel Legaspi,

 IM Chito Garma downed IM Barlo Nadera, Reggie Olay upset IM Tirto of Indonesia, and Fm Peter Long subdued Paulo Bersamina.

Meanwhile, Pichay said GM Rogelio Antonio, Jr. faces expulsion in the national team set to see action in the World Chess Olympiad if he fails to return to the country in time and compete in the first FIDE president Florencio Campomanes Memorial chess tournament starting Saturday, Aug. 28.

Antonio, the country’s second highest-rated player behind GM Wesley So, decided to skip the Pichay Cup and instead compete in the Central California Open in Fresno, California, USA.

Pichay has instructed NCFP executive director Willie Abalos to relay the possible sanction to Antonio, who left the country without prior approval of the chess federation.