Bitoon joins elite GM row, matches champ Barbosa’s feat

Richard Bitoon finally completed his Grandmaster requirement on Saturday, sharing the limelight with Oliver Barbosa, who achieved the feat on the eve of his triumph at the DYTM Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah Invitational Masters in Kuala Lumpur.

Bitoon bested Uzbek GM Tahir Vakhidov in the ninth and final round Saturday to pool 6.5 points, matching the requirement for a GM result in the round-robin tournament.

Barbosa, on the other hand, drew with Vietnamese GM Nguyen Anh Dung to finish with 7.0 points and pocket the RM 4,000 (about P56,000) champion’s purse.

According to National Chess Federation of the Philippines president Prospero “Butch” Pichay, Barbosa and Bitoon will be conferred the GM title in the next congress of the International Chess Federation (Fide).

They will join the elite list of Filipino GMs—Eugene Torre, Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr., Buenaventura “Bong” Villamayor, Nelson Mariano II, Mark Paragua, Wesley So, Darwin Laylo, Jayson Gonzales, John Paul Gomez, Joseph Sanchez, Roland Salvador, Rogelio Barcenilla Jr., Julio Catalino Sadorra and the late Rosendo Balinas Jr.

Another Filipino, Reggie Olay, wound up with 6.5 points in the Swiss System competition to earn his third and final International Master result.

Olay only needs to boost his current Elo rating of 2303 to 2400 to become a full-fledged IM.

The Filipinos’ campaign in the twin event was supported by the NCFP and the Philippine Sports Commission.