Veteran woodpusher Antonio boosts chances for title

Top seed GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. added two more victories and a draw to boost his chances for the title in the 2009 Asian Indoor Games qualifying tournament at the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) Employees’ Lounge in Diliman, Quezon City. Antonio trounced fellow GM Buenaventura “Bong" Villamayor in the eighth round and Belsar Valencia in the ninth then drew with Barlo Nadera in the 10th to grab the solo lead with seven points. The multi-titled campaigner from Calapan, Oriental Mindoro is the only unbeaten player in the tournament with five wins and four draws. He drew a bye in the fourth round. Antonio is now half a point ahead of GMs Mark Paragua and Jayson Gonzales with still seven rounds remaining in this 17-player, round-robin tournament being held to determine the country’s four representatives to the Asian Indoor Games on Oct. 30-Nov. 8 in Vietnam. “There are still seven rounds left, but I like my chances now," said Antonio. Paragua drew with erstwhile solo leader GM John Paul Gomez in the eighth round then racked up back-to-back victories over Julius Joseph de Ramos and Christopher Castellano in the ninth and 10th. Equally impressive was Gonzales, who halved the point with GM-elect Ronald Dableo in the eighth and won over Gomez in the 10th round. Gonzales took his bye in the ninth round. Four players - Dableo, Rolando Nolte, Ali Branzuela and Castellano – shared fourth to seventh places with six points. Dableo, who became the country’s newest GM following his smashing performance in the Malaysian Open last month, followed up a draw with Gonzales with back-to-back wins over Gomez and De Ramos. Nolte, one of the country’s strongest IMs, moved into contention by humbling Rhobel Legaspi in the ninth round and GM Darwin Laylo in the 10th. Perena, Mariano share women's lead In the distaff side, Catherine Perena made it five wins in a row to join five-time women’s champion Cristine Rose Mariano in the lead. Perena whipped Josephine Berago to hike her tally to six points, the same output as Mariano, who outclassed erstwhile solo leader Bernadette Galas. Perena has six wins and one loss, while Mariano has five wins, two draws and one loss. Galas, who provided the tournament with several surprise wins over higher-rated opponents, dropped to solo third place with 5.5 points. Sherily Cua dumped Shevalyn Peque to move into a tie for fourth place with Beverly Mendoza with 4.5 points. - GMANews.TV