AFTER an impressive leap to third spot, Cebuano young chess wizard Jerish John Velarde is down to sixth place after Round 7 in the 12-Under Open standard division of the 19th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Chess Championships.
Velarde of Maria Ernestine School in Lapu-Lapu City yielded to Vietnamese Candidate Master (CM) Nguyen Quoc Hy in the seventh round at at the Royal Mandaya Hotel in Davao City yesterday.
The 12-year-old Velarde is now at sixth place with 4.5 points from four wins and one draw.
Velarde had a slow start and was at 13th place last Thursday after the first three rounds, but he managed to bounce back and get to third place after racking up two wins and a draw in the fourth to sixth rounds. (RSC)