Pinoy chessers Barbosa, Villamayor make mark in Singapore

Two Filipino players came up with respectable performances in separate tournaments in Singapore. Former national junior champion Oliver Barbosa capped a memorable week by beating Timothy Can of Singapore in the ninth and final round to share first place with grandmaster Zurab Azmaiparashvili of Singapore at the close of the 2010 ASEAN Open chess championships held at the Stanfield Residences on Vernon Road. For his part, Villamayor placed runner-up behind top seed and eventual winner GM Wen Yang of China in the Singapore Open. Eager to regain his status as one of the country’s promising players, Barbosa finished with a nine-round total of 6.5 points on four wins and five draws in the prestigious 32-player tournament, which served as part of the annual Singapore International Chess Festival. The 24-year-old Barbsoa, who rose to prominence by winning both the national junior championship and national under-18 crowns in 2004, lso drew with compatriot GM Jon Paul Gomez n the eighth and penultimate round to catch up with Azmaiparashvili. Azmaiparashvili, however, earned the title by virtue of a higher tiebreak score, 48.5 to 46.5. Azmaiparashvili, a veteran campaigner from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, now plays for Singapore. He halved the point with GMs Dao Thien Hai and Cao Sang of Vietnam in the final two rounds. GM Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia defeated IM Richard Bitoon in the eighth round and drew with Gomez in the final round to finish in solo third place with six points. Gomez and Bitoon led a big group of players in a tie for fourth to ninth places with 5.5 points. Villamayor was the highest Pinoy placer in the Singapore Open. He defeated compatriots Christoper Castellano in the eighth round and Sheider Nebato in the ninth round to finish with seven points on six wins, two draws and one loss. Yang, the highest-rated player with an ELO of 2519, finished with eight wins and one draw for a near-perfect score of 8.5 points. Yang swept his first eight assignments before drawing his match with R.R. Laxman of India in the final round. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV