TAGAYTAY CITY, Philippies--IM candidate Rolando Nolte, former national junior champion Oliver Barbosa and Reggie Olay provided the decisive wins for the Philippines as they beat their Myanmar counterparts, 4.5-1.5, to fortify their hold on the lead after the eighth round of the "RP-Myanmar Dual Match" chess championship at the Lake Garden Hotel here Friday.

The Filipinos now have a commanding 31.5-16.5 lead over their rivals in the 12-round tournament. They have yet to lose a match against their higher-rated Burmese counterparts.

Nolte outclassed FM Kyaw Lin Naing in only 25 moves of the Sicilian Najdorf, Barbosa crushed FM Kyaw Soe Kyaw in 45 moves of another Sicilian and Olay of Davao City trounced IM Zaw Htun Wynn in 58 moves of the Saemisch opening.

Three other Filipinos--Jayson Gonzales, Rolando Andador and Dino Ballecer--drew their matches to seal the win.

Gonzales halved the point with fellow GM Win Lay Zaw in 19 moves of the London system, Andador split the point with IM Aung Aung in 19 moves of the Philidor and Ballecer shared the point with IM Oo Kyaw Nay in 11 moves of the Sicilian Dragon.

National Chess Federation of the Philipppines executive/events director Willie Abalos said he expects the Filipinos to "breeze through the remaining four rounds to wrap up the title."

Nolte remains the leading Filipino scorer after eight rounds with six wins and two draws for seven points.