Fronda scores in world juniors; Dimakiling rules Sabah Open

MANILA, Philippines - Jan Jodilyn Fronda defeated Turkey’s Lara Micioogullari but Jerad Docena fell to Lithunia’s Tomas Laurusas in the sixth round of the World Junior Chess Championships in Kocaeli, Turkey yesterday.

The win hiked Fronda’s total to three points although the Filipina bet stood 2.5 points behind Indonesian Woman International Master Warda Aulia Medina, who grabbed the solo lead with 5.5 points.

The 11th-ranked Medina shocked top seed Russian Woman GM Alina Kashlinskaya.

The loss, on the other hand, stalled Docena at 2.5 points in boys’ division.

Top seed GM Yu Yangyi of China trounced erstwhile co-leader GM Sethuraman S.P. of India to seize the solo lead with 5.5 points.

Docena, meanwhile, tries to recover lost ground as he takes on Ozan Cingoz of Turkey in the seventh round while Fronda seeks another win against Woman Fide Master Barbara Juhasz of Hungrary.

Over in Malaysia, IM Oliver Dimakiling and NM Nelson Villanueva beat their respective rivals to sweep top honors in the Sabah Grande Chess Open last Sunday.

Dimakiling whipped Malaysia’s Che Hassan Abdullah in the final round to finish with 7.5 points in the nine-round Swiss system tournament. He took home the top $1,000 prize.

On his way to the championship, Dimakiling beat Mohd Kifflee Awang Mohd Syafie, Kamin Al Kamil, Sahim Wising Abdul, Nik Abd Aziz Nik Ahmad Farouqi, Li Tian Yeoh and IM Mas Hafizulhelmi while halving the point with Malaysian Yit San Fong in the third and Villanueva in the penultimate round.

Villanueva, for his part, finished tied for second with Hafizulhelmi, Che and FIDE Master Nicholas Chan but took runner-up honors with a superior tiebreak score.