Mchedlishvili, Ghaem win 5th Pichay Cup

GMs Mikhail Mchedlishvili of Georgia and Ehsan Ghaem Maghami of Iran tied for first in the $30,000 Prospero A. Pichay Jr. Cup held 2-7 October 2009 at LUWA in Quezon City, Philippines. Filipino GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. prevailed in the tie break to finish in third place.

Top Filipino player GM Rogelio Antonio receives his trophy from National Chess Federation of the Philippines chairman/president Prospero A. Pichay Jr. and Secretary General Mayor Abraham Tolentino. Other NCFP officials are, from left, FIDE Delegate Casto Abundo, Treasurer Red Dumuk, Executive Director Wilfredo Abalos and Board members Val Rosabal and Edmund Legaspi.

The Pichay Cup, now in its 5th year, was immediately preceded by the $40,000 President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Cup also in Manila. The strong field of 20 Grandmasters saw action in both tournaments.

Antonio tied at 6.5 points apiece with GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam and GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore. GMs Darwin Laylo of Philippines, Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam and Neelotpal Das of India trailed with 6 points each. Go to chess-results.com for final standings.

GM Zhang Zhong – 5th Prospero A. Pichay Jr. Cup International Chess Championship 2009

Singapore PR, GM Zhang Zhong finished a credible joint third in a field of 60 very strong players from the region in the recently concluded 5th Prospero Pichay Jr. Cup International Chess Tournament 2009 in Manila, Philippines. GM Zhang Zhong had a short lay off from chess due to the arrival of his new born son.

He finished on 6.5 points together with GM Antonio Rogelio Jr. from the Philippines and GM Nguyen Ngoc Troung Son from Vietnam.

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.

Laylo shares lead in Butch Pichay Cup

CEBU, Philippines - World Cup-bound GM Darwin Laylo outdueled compatriot IM Richard Bitoon in the third round and then drew with top seed GM Mikhail Mchedlishvili of Georgia in the fourth to gain a share of the lead in the Prospero Pichay Cup International Chess Championship at the LWUA Bldg. in Katipunan Ave., Quezon City over the weekend.

The victory and the draw hiked Laylo’s output to 3.5 points as he joined Mchedlishvili and Iranian GM Ehsan Ghaemmaghami in the lead with five rounds left in the nine-round tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) in cooperation with the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA).

Mchedlishvili trounced GM Li Shilong of China in the third round while Ghaemmaghami beat No. 25 Tirto of Indonesia in the third round and No. 15 GM John Paul Gomez in the fourth.

Twelve players, led by newly crowned President Arroyo Cup champion GM Anton Filippov of Uzbekistan, Filipino bets GM Rogelio Antonio Jr., Eugene Torre and Bitoon, shared fourth place with three points each.

Filippov, hoping to become the first player to sweep the two tournaments, halved the point with GM Mark Paragua in the third round and Antonio in the fourth round.

Antonio, who will join Laylo and GM Wesley So as the country’s representatives to the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia next month, trampled IM Rolando Nolte in the third round before halving the point with Filippov.

Torre, out to atone for his lackluster showing in the PGMA Cup last week, dumped Ali Branzuela and GM-elect Ronald Dableo, while Bitoon, who is seeking his third and last GM norm, bounced back from his third-round setback to Laylo as he subdued Denil Causo.

Also moving up in contention with three points are GMs Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam, Tigran Kotanjian of Armenia, Abhijeet Gupta of India, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam, Das Neelotpal of India, Zhang Zhong of Singapore, Merab Gagunashvili and Pyotr Kostenko of Kazakhstan.

Kotanjian drew with Nguyen, Gupta halved the point with Dao, Zhang nipped Paragua, Gagunashvili outclassed FM Fernie Donguines, Das downed IM Chito Garma and Kostenko humbled FM Leonardo Carlos.

Rolando Andador toppled GM Buenaventura “Bong” Villamayor, GM Jayson Gonzales drew with Alcon John Datu, and Alex Milagrosa split the point with Nolte to lead five other players with 2.5 points.