So wins again; Pinoys remain at second

IM Wesley So posted win No. 8 but the Philippines remained in second overall as it settled for a 2-2 draw with Singapore even as India whipped Australia, 2.5-0.5, to stay on top in the eighth round of the World Under-16 Chess Olympiad at the Asean Chess Academy at The Plaza in Singapore Thursday.

So, 13, outclassed Timothy Chan Wei-xuan with the black pieces to record his eighth straight victory and move within two wins from posting an incredible sweep on the top board in the tournament.

Unrated Karl Victor Ochoa upended Fide Master Dominic Lo Kin Mun to register his fifth win against a draw and two losses as he accounted for the other point for Team RP, which hiked its output to 21 with two rounds left to play.

Haridas Pascua and Robert Grafil dropped their matches to Daniel Chan Yi-ren and Terry Chua Zheng-yuan, respectively, as the Philippines, ranked 22nd here, failed to grab the lead from the second seed India, which it beat, 3-1, in the previous round.

But the Indians bounced back from that setback as they routed the Aussies, 2.5-0.5, to keep the lead with 22.5 points.

Uzbekistan later joined RP in second with a 2.5-1.5 victory over Vietnam, while the top seeded Hungary continued its surge with a 4-0 win over Switzerland for solo fourth with 20.5 points.

So and company, who honed their talents in the Shell active chess series back home and whose stint is supported by National Chess Federation of the Philippines, Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), face the Aussies in a crucial ninth round match.

Other pairings pit India vs Iran; Hungary vs Uzbekistan; and Singapore vs Indonesia.