Antonio salvages 3rd in Pichay Cup

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MANILA, Philippines - Top seed GM Mikhail Mchedlishvili of Georgia edged GM Ehsan Ghaemmaghami of Iran in the tiebreak to capture the crown even as GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. settled for joint third in the Prospero Pichay Cup International Chess Championships at the LWUA Bldg. in Katipunan Ave., Quezon City.

Mchedlishvili outwitted GM Abhijeet Gupta of India in the final round while Ghaemmaghami subdued GM Li Shilong of China as they finished the nine-round tournament with seven points.

Mchedlishvili, however, took the crown with a superior tiebreak score. Both players took home $4,500 each.

It was the second title in less than three weeks for Mchedlishvili, who also topped the Ravana GM tournament in Sri Lanka last month.

Antonio outduelled GM Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia to clinch third place honors with 6.5 points and emerge as the highest-placed Filipino player for the second straight time. He placed sixth in last week’s PGMA Cup.

Antonio, priming up for the World Chess Cup in Russia next month, finished tied for third with GMs Nguen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam and Zhang Zhong of Singapore with 6.5 points.

Nguyen whipped GM Anuar Ismagambetov of Kazakhstan, while Zhang trounced GM Eugene Torre.

Antonio, however, finished ahead of Nguyen and Zhang with a higher tiebreak.

Asian Zone 3.3 champion GM Darwin Laylo battled GM Tigran Kotanjian of Armenia to a draw to finish tied for sixth with GM Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam and GM Neelotpal Das of India with six points.