Gomez clobbers rival, ties Uzbek GM for lead
August 23, 2010, 7:18pm
World Chess Olympiad-bound GM John Paul Gomez held top seed GM Murtas Kazhgaleyev of Kazakhstan to a draw in the third round then clobbered his Indonesian rival in the fourth to gain a piece of the lead in the Prospero Pichay Cup international chess championship on Monday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
After a 41-move draw with his fancied rival, Gomez, one of five players set to represent the country in the 39th World Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansisyk, trounced IM Sadikin Irwanto in 38 moves of the Catalan to tie GM Anton Filippov of Uzbekistan for the lead with 3.5 points out of a possible four.
Filippov subdued GM Jayson Gonzales in the third round and drew with Kazhgaleyev in the fourth round.
Ten players, led by Kazhgaleyev and GM Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia, share third to 12th places with three points each.
Gagunashvili halved the point with Irwanto and fellow Geogian Tamaz Gelashvili.
GM Darwin Laylo outplayed second-round sensation Mari Jospeh Turqueza and IM Roy Sartapshi of Indonesia to vault into contention with three points.
Also making their presence felt in the prestigious tournament were Filipinos IM Rolando Nolte, IM Barlo Nadera, IM Oliver Dimakling, NM Emmanuel Senador and FM Haridas Pascua and IM Yu Lie of China.
Nolte drew with GM Ehsan Ghaemmaghami of Iran and won over upset-conscious Efren Bagamasbad; Nadera lost to Gelashvili but beat Ben Polao; Dimakiling bested Edmundo Gatus and Alex Milagrosa; Senador crushed Ritchie Evangelista and Ghaemaghami and Pascua drew with Lie and upset IM Ronald Dableo.
Gonzales bounced back from a third-round loss to Filippov with a draw against WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan of Iran to lead five other players with 2.5 points.
Source: http://www.mb.com.ph
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