Garcia draws with Bersamina, finishes 3rd in JAPFA chess tiff

MANILA, Philippines – International Master Jan Emmanuel Garcia drew with countryman IM Paulo Bersamina to settle for a third place finish in the JAPFA ASEAN Chess Championship in Jakarta, Indonesia Wednesday.

Garcia was actually tied with FIDE Master Nguyen Anh Khoi and Grandmaster Dao Thien Hai of Vitenam with seven points apiece but fell to No. 3 after ending up with the worst tiebreaker with 35.75.

Nguyen, who shocked Indonesian GM Susanto Megaranto in the 11th and final round, took first place with a tiebreaker score of 36.75 while Dao, who downed untitled Yoseph Theolifus Taher of Indonesia, wound up at No. 2 with 36.00.

Bersamina finished tied for No. 4 with Malaysian FM Yeoh Li Tian, who split the point with Vietnamese IM Nguyen Van Huy, with six points apiece but slid at No. 5 on lower tiebreak of 31.50 as against the latter's 32.75.

The only other Filipino in the closed tournament, GM Darwin Laylo, halved the point with Indonesian IM Ali Muhammad Lutfi to end up second to last with a point to show.

In women's play, Woman IM Janelle Mae Frayna drew Indonesian WIM Chelsie Monica Ignesia Sihite to finish second with eight points, a full behind champion WGM Nguyen Thi Mai Hung of Vietnam.

WFM Shania Mae Mendoza and WIM Bernadette Galas agreed to draw to finish third and sixth, respectively.