Gonzales ends up 15th; Frayna 21st

MANILA, Philippines — Grandmaster Jayson Gonzales blew his winning chances and settled for a 66-move draw with eighth seed GM Kevel Oliva Castaneda of Cuba to finish at 15th in the XX Obert Internacional Sant Marti 2018 in Barcelona, Spain Saturday night.

The 49-year-old Gonzales opted to simplify the position after storming his rival’s kingside with a bishop on the h1-a8 diagonal and a hostile rook on the second rank that netted him a pawn. But he missed the winning queen move and Oliva Castaneda showed superb endgame technique and eventually forced a draw.

Gonzales finished with six points for joint 11th with nine others, eventually ending up at 15th after the tiebreak. He wound up fifth in last week’s tournament in Barbera del Valles also in Barcelona.

Woman GM Janelle Mae Frayna and International Master John Marvin Miciano also drew their games with IM Alexey Fernandez Cardoso of Cuba and Torbjorn Glimbrant of Sweden, respectively, to finish at 21st to 29th spots, respectively, with 5.5 points.

Miciano and Frayna ended up at 41st and 59th last week.

Frayna, Miciano and Gonzales resume their campaign in the 44th Sitges International at the La Penya Chess Casino Prado Suburense de Sitges, which got going yesterday.

Apart from eyeing the GM title, Frayna, a Far Eastern U cum laude, will also spearhead the country’s campaign in the World Chess Olympiad in September in Batumi, Georgia.