Oliver Barbosa seizes India chess title

Filipino Grandmaster Oliver Barbosa whipped Indian International Master Shyam Nikil in the 11th and final round Monday to rule the Parsvnath International Grandmasters Tournament at the Ludlow Castle Sports Complex in New Delhi.

Barbosa, the overnight co-leader with compatriot GM John Paul Gomez, half a point ahead of the pack, avoided tiebreak complications by besting Nikil with the black pieces.

The win gave the woodpusher from Taytay, Rizal, an unassailable total of 9.5 points. He pocketed the champion’s purse of about $4,000.

Gomez, also playing black, fought hard but settled for a draw with Ma Qun of China to fall into a share of second place with Indian IM M.R. Lalith Babu with 9 points apiece.

After the tiebreak was applied, however, the pride of Biñan, Laguna, clinched second.

GM Mark Paragua outplayed Russian GM Evgeny Gleizerov and finished fourth as the Filipinos asserted their superiority on the 700-player-plus field.

Paragua actually tied Ma at 8.5 points but the Bulacan-based GM grabbed fourth place on a superior quotient.

The fourth Filipino in the 11-round Swiss system event, GM Richard Bitoon, bowed to untitled Kulkarni Chinmay of India and wound up tied for 66th place with 6.5 points.

“Our players’ 1-2-4 finish is very inspiring, it rarely happens,” said National Chess Federation of the Philippines chair-president Prospero Pichay.