So, Antonio falter in rapid chess

GUANGZHOU – Uzbekistan super grandmaster Rustam Kasimdzhanov played Kazakhstan GM Darmen Sadvakasov to a draw and formally claimed the gold medal in the rapid chess event of the Asian Games chess competition Tuesday night at the Guangzhou Chess Institute.

Kasimdzhanov, a chess author who says he played 12 hours of chess a day to prepare for the Games, racked up 7.5 points from six wins, three draws and no loss to claim the gold after a tiebreak with 19-year-old Le Quang Liem of Vietnam.

Kasimdzhanov (Elo 2685) won the tiebreak by virtue of the win-over-the-other rule, having beaten the young Vietnamese GM in the fourth round. Liem had a concluding 7-1-1 win-draw-loss card.

Chinese super GM Bu Xiang (Elo 2680) took the bronze also via the same tiebreak with Kazakhstan’s Murtas Kazhgaleyev after both finished the nine-round Swim System tournament with a 6-1-2 mark.

Bu defeated Kazhgaleyev in the sixth round.

Filipino GM Rogelio Antonio had 5.5 points (4-3-2) for 13th place while top chess player Wesley So was a notch lower at 14th with five points (4-2-3).

“We were up against a young and tough field. We’ll try to make it to the semifinals in the team tournament, and from there work our way to the gold or silver,” said Philippine coach Willie Abalos.

The team competitions start tomorrow after a one-day break.

The top four teams in the nine-round Swiss System event advance to the Final 4, with the first match pitting No. 1 and No. 4 and the second match pairing No. 3 against No. 4.