Pascua nets $3,000 in PSC Chess tilt

DESPITE an early lead early in the tournament, FIDE master Haridas Pascua succumb in the final round but settled for second place at the close of the PSC Cup International Chess Championships at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila, Sunday.

Pascua failed to sustain his big win in the early goings of the tournament after defeating Grandmaster Mark Paragua and a draw against 4th seed GM elect Bayarsaikhan Gundavaa of Mongolia of the weeklong tournament.

The University of Baguio student succumbed to GM John Paul Gomez in 37 moves that saw the GM climbing atop the individual honors and a share of second spot with Pascua.

Both woodpushers split the combined prize of $7,000 of the event sponsored by Smart Communications, hosted by the PSC and was organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines.

Grandmaster Mark Paragua captured the championship by drawing his final round match with GM Joey Antonio.

Paragua, the first Filipino to breach the 2600 ELO rating, split the point with Antonio after 31 moves of a Sicilian Defense to finish the nine-round Swiss event with 7.5 points. He earned $6,000 for his feat.

The country’s reigning National Juniors Chess Champion Pascua actually needed 14 points from formalizing his IM title, which he already gained following his huge victory in the tournament.

Pascua has an Elo rating of 2386, which is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess.

The Mangatarem, Pangasinan native earlier earned his third and final International Master norm during the 2nd Indonesia Chess Championship held in Jakarta, Indonesia last year where he defeated GMs Paragua and Vietnam’s Cao Sang. (Roderick Osis)