THIRD-SEEDED international master (IM) Oliver Dimakiling of Davao City bowed to grand master (GM) Rogelio Antonio Jr. in their ninth round clash late Thursday afternoon in the ongoing 2014 National Championships "Battle of Grandmasters" Open at the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) athletes' dining hall.
The Dabawenyo's loss followed a victory over IM Joel Pimentel in eighth round of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP)-organized tournament.
Manila-based Dimakiling, who hails from Sasa, earned a total of 4.5 points, keeping its share in the sixth to eighth place with Antonio and GM Darwin Laylo.
GM Eugenio Torre snatched the lead, beating fellow six-pointer GM John Paul Gomez via superior tiebreaks. Torre drew with IM Jan Emmanuel Garcia after beating WFM Janelle Mae Frayna.
Second-seeded Gomez, who split points with GMs Rogelio Barcenilla and Antonio in the last two rounds, occupied the second spot followed by 5.5 scorers top-seed FM Paulo Bersamina and Garcia. Lone female entry Frayna took the solo fifth spot with five points.
Trailing behind in the 11-round Swiss System format chessfest are Barcenilla (4.0), GM Richard Bitoon (3.5), NM Roel Abelgas (2.5) and IM Joel Pimentel (2.5).
Dimakiling was set to play Barcenilla as of this writing.
Meanwhile, WIM Catherine Perena, WNM Christy Bernales and WFM Cherry Ann Mejia figured in a three-way tie with similar 6.5 points to share the lead in the women's division. (MLSA)