TAGAYTAY — International master Michael Concio proved steadier in the endgame to repulse FM Gian Karlo Arca of Panabo City in their all-Filipino showdown in the Asian Juniors and Girls Chess Championships at the Knights Templar Hotel here on Wednesday, October 16, 2024..
Concio expertly held his ground despite an inferior position in the middle game and pounced on Arca" 's slight mistake in the endgame to salvage the win after nearly four hours of play.
The win enabled the 19-year-old Concio to raise his record to 3.5 points on three wins and one draw in the prestigious, nine-round competition.
“Mahirap yun laban namin, lalo na magaling din talaga siya. Lamang pa nga siya hanggang middle game, pero nagkamali ng continuation (Our match was tough, especially since he's really good as well. In fact, he was ahead until the middle of the game, but he made a mistake in the continuation),” said Concio, who also avenged an earlier setback to Arca in the rapid competition held last Sunday.
With the win, Concio arranged a crucial fifth-round showdown with defending champion and top seed GM Aleksey Grebnev of Russia on Wednesday.
Grebnev, considered one of the strongest junior players in the world, clobbered closest rival IM Krishan Rohit of India in the battle between the top two seeds to keep the solo lead with four straight wins.
Six players, led by No. 3 seed IM S. Aswath of India and No. 4 IM Artem Uskov of Russia, shared third to eighth places with three points, out of a possible four.
Another Filipino campaigner, Andreei Ainsley Dolorosa, overpowered CM Ragavesh Velavaa of India, to join the elite group of three-pointers.
Arca leads three other players with 2.5 points.
In the girls' division, No. 2 seed WIM Anna Shukhman of Russia made it four straight wins by beating upset-conscious No. 6 Halder Sneha of India.
Defending champion and top seed WIM G. Tejaswini of India continued her climb back to the top as she humbled No. 10 Luong Hoang Tu Linh of Vietnam.
Tejaswini is now tied for second to fourth place with fellow Indians Sneha and Dhanasree Khairmode with three points.
The highest-placed Filipna player is Jemaicah Yap Mendoza, who upset the world 12-under cadets champion and No. 4 seed Devindya Oshini Gunawardhana of Sri Lanka.
The win gave the 14-year-old pride of Sta. Rosa, Laguna a total of 2.5 points, 1.5 points behind Shukhman.
At stake in the week-long competition are gold, silver, and bronze medals in all three events: standard, rapid, and blitz.
Titles will also be given to the top finishers.
The tournament director is Mike Lapitan while the chief arbiter is Patrick Lee. PR