Antonio nears P1M purse;

Grandmaster Rogelio Antonio Jr. hurdled the second to the last man separating him from the Pambansa Chess Millennium Grand Prix crown as he bundled out National Master Richard Bitoon with a draw in their second game yesterday at the PNB Finance Center in Pasay.

Antonio, who toppled Bitoon in their first game Monday, settled for a fighting 39-move draw to complete a 1.5-.5 win in their duel and get a crack at the championship and the P1 million cash pot that goes with it.

National Master Enrique Paciencia Jr. stayed in the hunt for the rich prize as he forced an active playoff with third-seeded International Master Buenaventura Villamayor on a 24-move win in an English Opening.

Paciencia pounced on an errant pawn capture in the opening by Villamayor to grab a positional advantage which he easily converted into a point.

"May halong swerte. Pero kailangan mo rin talaga ng swerte sa tournament na ito, hindi puro galing lang (There's a bit of luck but you really need some luck in a tournament like this, not only talent)," said Paciencia, who will play his very first playoff in the tournament starting at 1 p.m. today.

Running out of luck and finding the end of his bid was Bitoon.

Actually, Bitoon engaged Antonio in a highly-complicated battle with the 24-year-old Navyman dictating the tempo early on.

But Antonio found an accurate pawn move in the middlegame, then simplified the game with a series of exchanges of pieces, resulting to the draw.

"That was a tough match we had today but it's good I saw that good pawn move that gave me the advantage. I played conservatively because all I needed is a draw," said Antonio, who assured himself of P228,000 on his entry into the finals.

"Suki talaga ako ni Joey (Antonio) (I'm really Joey's whipping boy)," said Bitoon who will receive P114,000 on his joint third finish in the rich tournament.

For Villamayor, it was a sorry loss, as like Bitoon, he seized control early on only to blow his chance for the win in the end.

"Sayang, maraming chances para manalo, bad move pa ang nakita ko. Anyway, may bukas pa para bumawi (It's a pity because I have a lot of chances to win but I made a bad move. But there's still tomorrow to equalize)," said Villamayor.