Unheralded Rhenzi Kyle Sevillano stunned Vietnamese Fide Master Nguyen Anh Koi in the fifth round Tuesday night to join International Master Oliver Dimakiling at second spot in the Asian Zone 3.3 Chess Championships Open division at Tagaytay Convention Center.
Sevillano (Elo 2037) surprised the seventh-ranked Nguyen (2459) to climb to 3.5 points in the company of Dimakiling and Vietnamese GM Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy, who drew their match.
Rising Malaysian star FM Yeoh Li Tian beat GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. to tighten his grip of the lead with 4.5 points.
Also at 3.5 was Vietnamese top seed GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son.
Antonio remained at 3.0 points in the company of countrymen IMs Paulo Bersamina and Haridas Pascua and six others.
In women’s play, Vietnamese WGM Hoang Thi Bao Tram kept solo top spot at 4.0 points following a draw with Singaporean WIM Gong Qianyun.
Abundo seminar
World Chess Federation lecturer Casto Abundo will conduct a Fide arbiters seminar from March 3 to 5 at the Philippine Sports Commission office, Rizal Memorial Complex in Manila. For details, call Patrick Lee at 09955421266. —ROY LUARCA