GM Barbosa leads Pinoy chessers as Gomez falls

Grandmaster Oliver Barbosa bested Chinese Yu Ruiyuan in the third round Tuesday to lead Filipino bets in the 11th Asian Continental Individual Chess Championships in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.

The win raised Barbosa’s total to 2.5 points, just half a point behind pacesetters GM Yu Yangyi and International Master Liu Qingnan, both of China.

Yu bested GM John Paul Gomez while Liu thwarted IM Bayarsaikhan Gundavaa of Mongolia.

Sharing third place with Barbosa, the Philippines’ third highest rated player, were Chinese GMs Ding Liren and Zhao Jun, Indonesian GM Susanto Megaranto and Fide Master Anjas Novita, Indian GM Sethuraman S.P. and Vietnamese IM Nguyen Van Huy.

GM Mark Paragua and IM Jan Emmanuel Garcia rose to 2.0 by downing Vietnamese IM Ton That Nhu Tung and Indonesian Ferdiman Tersiman, respectively.

Still groping for form, top Filipino hope GM Wesley So settled for a third straight draw against Chinese IM Lou Yiping and was at 1.5 points in the company of compatriots GM Darwin Laylo and GM Eugene Torre. Roy Luarca