MANILA, Philippines - FM Haridas Pascua and Christy Lamiel Bernales beat their respective rivals to move up in the standings after seven rounds of the Asian Juniors Chess Championships at the Vijay Park and Business Hotel in Chennai, India Monday.
Pascua, 17, whipped No. 31 seed CRG Krishna of India to hike his total to 4.5 points for a share of 11th heading in the last two rounds of the annual event for the region’s top junior players.
He remained 1.5 points behind solo leader IM Sundar Shyam of India although Pascua is eyeing a top 10 finish with victories in the last two rounds.
Pascua, however, will have his hands full in the penultimate round as he is paired with sixth seed Dhopane Swapnil of India, who crushed Mohammad Hossein Shamsi of Iran.
Bernales, meanwhile, demolished Shidhali Shetye of India for her second straight win in the girls division.
She now has four points and gained a share of 14th.