Paragua, Barbosa press bid in Asian chess

MANILA, Philippines - Grandmasters Mark Paragua and Oliver Barbosa toppled their respective rivals to join GM John Paul Gomez at second after six rounds of the 11th Asian Continental Individual Chess Championships in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam yesterday.

Paragua beat GM Abhijeet Gupta of India, Barbosa trounced GM Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia while Gomez split the point with GM Ding Liren of China to hike their totals to 4.5 points, half-a-point behind GM Parimarjan Negi of India.

Other 4.5 pointers are Ding, GMs Yu Yangyi and Lu Shanglei and IM Liu Qingnan of China and GM Salem A R Saleh of UAE.

Negi defeated former solo leader Yu to grab the solo lead.

GM Wesley So, meanwhile, posted his second straight win after four draws, beating GM Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam to improve to four points in a tie with GMs Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam, Wan Yunguo and Yu Ruiyuan of China.

GM Darwin Laylo bowed to IM Le Quang Long of Vietnam, IM Jan Emmanuel Garcia lost to CM Farid Firman Syah of Indonesia while Asia’s first GM Eugene Torre drew with IM Ton That Nhu Tung of Vietnam. The troika stood too far behind with two points in the event serving as a qualifier for this year’s World Cup.