Dableo earns third GM norm

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – International Master Ronald Dableo drew nearer to becoming a full-fledged grandmaster after clinching his third and final GM result, even as National Master Emmanuel Senador defied all odds to earn his first GM norm in a pair of inspired performances on Friday at the close of the Dato Arthur Tan-Malaysian Open Chess Championship at the Ballroom, Cititel MidValley Hotel here.

Dableo, who had six points after eight rounds and needed at least a draw to clinch his third GM norm in the week-long tournament, did the trick after upending GM Susano Megaranto of Indonesia (Elo 2535) in the ninth and final round.

“Ang lakas ng pressure nung laban namin ni Susanto kasi nga make-or-break na ‘yun. Mabuti na lang nakakita ako ng magandang tira,” said the 30-year Dableo, whose stint here is being supported by Sol Marfori, finance manager of JH Patawaran, a construction company back home.

Dableo, who holds an Elo of 2417, went on to finish second overall behind Neghi Paramanjan of India, who won the tournament with a total of seven points.

The long-time University of Santo Tomas coach in the UAAP finished tied with Paramanjan but took second overall with an inferior tiebreak. He had seven points on six wins, two draws and a lone loss against Marat Dzhumaev of Uzbekistan. He won against compatriot and GM Darwin Laylo and Rahman Ziaur of Bangladesh and halved the point against Paramanjan.

But to become a full-pledged GM and join 11 others in the elite Filipino grandmasters list, Dableo needs to jack up his Elo rating to at least 2500.

”Talagang magpupursigi na ako. Mabuti nga marami ng tournaments sa atin (Philippines). Siguro mga 3 or 4 tournaments pa basta ganito lang lagi kaganda ang performance ko,” Dableo added, referring to the GMA Cup and the Pichay Cup slated next month in Manila and other international tournaments slated next year.

Senador, one of a handful of NMs here, pulled off the other shocker when he finished fourth overall with 6.5 points on the way to clinching his first GM result after a long wait.

The Jaro, Iloilo native actually needed only to draw his last match against Paramanjan to secure the title, but lost to the Indian in a tense final-round skirmish. But despite the loss, the veteran Senador proved that it’s never too late to aspire for a GM norm.

“Ang tagal ko ring hinintay ito. Pwede pa pala tayo,” said Senador, who beat a pair of Chinese GMs in Xkie Deshun (2525) and Yu Yangyi (2510) and was in solo lead with 6.5 points after eight rounds.

In the Ambank Challenge Cup tournament for 2200-below players, the Philippines also completed a 1-2-3 sweep with Samson Lim winning the tournament, Rodolfo Panopio placing second and Roel Abelgas clinching third place.

Informed of the latest feat of Filipino chess players, National Chess Federation of the Philippines president Prospero “Butch” Pichay said this only proves that Filipinos are world-class beaters.

“I would like to extend my congratulations to now GM-elect Ronald Dableo and Manny Senador and our Challenge Cup winners. They really proved that Filipinos are at par with the best in the world. And this also proves that our programs in the NCFP are on the right track,” Pichay said.