San Diego takes sole lead at ASEAN+ chess championships
The Filipina has 4.5 points after five rounds, with a Woman Grandmaster title available to the outright champion.
Filipina Woman International Master Marie Antoinette San Diego defeated top seed Bordoloi Pratitee of India in 41 moves to move into first place outright at the 7th ASEAN+ Individual Chess Championships in Misamis Occidental.
The fifth-round result put the 27-year-old on 4.5 points. Pratitee, India’s Shree Reddy Keerti and Indonesia’s Shafira Devi Herfesa followed with four points apiece.
San Diego said pressure to perform had previously taken the enjoyment out of chess, and she was now trying to approach it simply as a game. She won the national championship four years ago but has not repeated that success.
She has recorded four victories in the tournament, including wins against Woman Grandmasters Janelle Mae Frayna of the Philippines and Altan-Ulzii Enkhtuul of Mongolia. Four rounds remain in the nine-round competition, which awards the WGM title to the outright champion. Her next opponent is Herfesa.
Elsewhere, Keerti and Filipina Shania Mae Mendoza drew in 30 moves through perpetual check. Herfesa recovered from a losing position to beat the Philippines’ Ruelle Canino after 71 moves.
In the open competition, Filipino FM Alekhine Nouri drew with Indian IM Bala Chandra Prasad Dhulipalla in 49 moves despite holding an exchange advantage. Nouri shared third place with three other players on 3.5 points, half a point behind joint leaders Erdene Baasansuren of Mongolia and Nguyen Duc Hoa of Vietnam.
