Mark draws with Viet GM, shares lead

MANILA, Philippines - Grandmaster Mark Paragua fought top seed Vietnamese GM Le Quang Liem to a draw but dropped to a joint share of the lead with a surging No. 2 Chinese GM Li Chao after six rounds of the $100,000 Asian Continental Chess Championships dubbed the “Manny Pacquiao Cup” at the Midas Hotel and Casino in Pasay Thursday night.

Paragua, 29, battled Le, boasting of a high 2714 rating, in the Sveshnikov variation of the razor-sharp Sicilian, going one pawn up after a series of pawn and minor piece exchanges. But with no clear line or a combination to eke out a win, the Filipino GM agreed to split the point after the 29th move.

“I will lose that pawn advantage eventually so the draw is good enough for me,” said Paragua, who gained the solo lead by beating compatriot and erstwhile leader GM Julio Catalino Sadorra in the fifth round, in Filipino.

Li dismantled GM Richard Bitoon’s Bogo-Indian Defense in 46 moves to tie Paragua at five points heading to the last three rounds of the Swiss system tournament bankrolled by Pacquiao, organized by the Eugene Torre Foundation and backed by Cafe Puro, Alaxan and Oriental and Motolite Battery.

The Chinese ace pounced on Bitoon passive bishop moves to gain the tempo and later the initiative which he translated into a resounding victory.

Li had two passed pawns on the a and c files when Bitoon resigned.

The win set up Li against the 26-year-old Sadorra, who split the point with childhood friend GM John Paul Gomez in 29 moves of a Gruenfeld duel.

Paragua, meanwhile, will take on Indian GM Baskaran Adhiban, who trounced Qatari GM Mohammed Al Sayed to join Le, Gomez and Sadorra at No. 3 with 4.5 points.

Indian GM Subramanian Arun Prasad downed countryman GM M. R. Lalith Babu, while Uzbekistan GM Marat Dzhumaev turned back Mongolian GM Tsegmed Batchuluun to join the 4.5-pointer group.

GM Oliver Barbosa, an Olympiad veteran and the highest ranked Filipino here at No. 8 with 2566, racked up his fourth straight victory after trampling Bangladeshi GM Niaz Murshed to stay in the hunt with four points.

Other four pointers are GMs Krishnan Sasikiran, G.N. Gopal and Santosh Gujrathi Vidit of India, Indonesian International Master Firman Syah Farid, Vietnamese GMs Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son and Dao Thien Hai, Chinese IM Wang Yunguo and Bitoon.