Oliver Barbosa becomes Philippines’ 3rd super GM

Oliver Barbosa became the third Filipino super Grandmaster after he ruled the 10th Parsvnath International Grandmasters Chess Tournament in New Delhi, India on Monday.

The Taytay, Rizal, native finished the eleven-round Swiss system tournament with 9.5 points on eight wins and three draws en route to the title, which enabled the former University of the Philippines (UP) mainstay to raise his Elo live rating to 2627 from 2573 points.

Super Grandmasters are those with Elo ratings of at least 2600.

The undefeated Filipino gained 53.8 Elo rating points plus a Tournament Rating Performance (TPR) 2710 with his victory.

“We (NCFP) are honored to present Oliver Barbosa as our newest super Grandmaster in Philippine History,” said National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) head Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr., who is fully supporting the players’ overseas campaign as part of the country’s preparation for this year’s 38th World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey.

Mark Paragua was the Philippines’ first super Grandmaster after he placed second in the 2006 Asian Zonal 3.3 Chess Championships.

Paragua finished with 8.5 points in the same tournament in India and finished fourth overall.

Whiz kid Wesley So, on the other hand, achieved a rating of 2627 in 2009, a Philippine national record. So, who is currently considered as the strongest chess player from the Philippines, achieved the GM title at the age of 14 years, 1 month and 28 days, making him the seventh youngest person to achieve the Grandmaster title.

The Filipino woodpushers returned from their India chess campaign Wednesday.