Thursday, August 19, 2004
Paragua tops Genoa In’tl. Chess Open
FILIPINOS stamped their class by finishing at the top of the standings in the 8th Geneva Chess Tournament in Switzerland.
International Master Mark Paragua led the group by clinching the championship of the tournament after posting seven points, edging two others who scored the same output with a superior tiebreak.
Paragua drew his last-round match against compatriot IM Yves Rañola, who also scored seven points in the nine-round event. Rañola finished third, behind Bulgaria’s Nikita Maiorov, who copped the first runner-up trophy also with seven points.
Earlier, the second-seed Paragua, now the country’s top-rated player seeking his last two GM norms, defeated Charles Reiser in round one, compatriot Roland Salvador in round two, Folco Ferretti in round four and Pinoy IM Ronald Bancod and Sergeys Gromov in rounds seven and eight.
On the other hand, Paragua’s former coach, Cebuano Fide Master Joseph Sanchez, finished within the top 10 after posting 6.5 points, half a point behind the co-champions with a final-round upset of GM Eraldi Gervishi.
Sanchez also defeated Carlo Barlocco, Maurizio Guidi, Kai Kluss, and Carlo Morlani, while his lone loss was against Mairov in round six.
Another Pinoy bet, Rolando Nolte, also posted 6.5 points to finish 12th, while Salvador and Rolly Martinez finished with 5.5 points apiece to take the 16th and 17th places. (ML)
(August 19, 2004 issue)
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