FILIPINO bets make their presence felt right in the opening round of the 3rd Asean Japfa Chess Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday.
International Master Jan Emmanuel Garcia subdued Vietnamese Olympian IM Van Huy Nguyen in their English opening duel that lasted more than four hours.
Garcia, stalwart of Ateneo de Manila University, shared the early Open division lead with Vietnamese GM Dao Thien Hai, Indonesian Yoseph Theolifus Taher and Malaysian Fide Master Li Tian Yeoh.
Grandmaster Darwin Laylo, on the other hand, settled for a draw with compatriot IM Paulo Bersamina in their Modern defense skirmish and landed in the company of Indonesian top seed GM Susanto Megaranto and Indonesian IM Sean Cuhendi Winshand.
WIM Janelle Mae Frayna and WFM Shanai Mae Mendoza also hurdled their Women’s division rivals.
Handling the black pieces, Frayna beat Indonesian WFM Shanti Nur Abidah in their Italian encounter while Mendoza outplayed Indonesian Olympian WFM Dewi A.A. Citra.
WIM Bernadette Galas settled for a draw via perpetual check with WIM Chelsie Monica Sihite after overlooking the winning move in their Sicilian Rossolimo Variation tussle.