Villamayor, who gained a berth in this knockout system event by placing second behind fellow GM Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam in the Zonal 3.2a Championship this year, had enough space for a queenside attack after Minasian, opting for a Modern Defense, gained control of the black squares following an exchange of his white diagonal bishop for Villamayor’s knight.
But the 33-year-old Armenian, who topped the last Soviet Championship in 1991 before the breakup of the Soviet Union, countered with sound moves then forced an exchange of minor pieces to equalize. Both players agreed to halve the point in a bishop-and-rook versus knight-and-rook endgame.
The draw thus put Villamayor, who totes a FIDE rating of 2495, in a slightly difficult position in the second game of their two-game match as the bespectacled Quezon native plays black against Minasian, who has a 2595 rating.
Another draw would pave the way for a knockout match in a rapid chess format.
With a 100-point rating advantage, Minasian is fancied to win the match interrupted by a couple of brownouts in the early going. Villamayor, who helped anchor the Philippines’ top 20 finish in the recent World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey, said the break somehow stalled his analysis on the 18th and 22nd moves.
Villamayor is hoping to better compatriot’s Rogelio Antonio Jr.’s performance in this championship last year where the latter advanced to the second round before losing to eventual runner-up GM Vladimir Akopian. – Joey Villar