Gomez, Chinese at helm

VIETNAM – GM John Paul Gomez drew with GM Wen Yang of China, to share top spot with GM Yu Yangyi also of China in the seventh round of the 2011 HD Bank Cup Open chess championship at the Rex Hotel Saturday.

Gomez, who won his first five assignments, and Wen, one of four Chinese GMs in the field, halved the point in their top board encounter, enabling Yu to catch up with the Filipino in the lead with six points apiece with two rounds left in the 74-player tournament offering $6,000 to the champion.

Yu, who snapped Gomez’s five-game winning streak by forcing a draw Friday, defeated candidate master Tran Thanh Tu of Vietnam.

IMs Richard Bitoon and Oliver Barbosa came through with upset victories over higher-rated opponents to forge a nine-way tie for third to 11th places with five points.

Bitoon, a member of the Philippine team in the 39th World Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia last year, pulled the rug from under fourth seed GM Zhao Jun (Elo 2599) of China, while Barbosa, a surprise co-winner in the ASEAN Chess Championship in Singapore last month, outclassed Lu Shanglei also of China to raise their record to five points.

Bitoon and Barbosa drew level with top seed GM Le Quang Liem and second seed GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, who split the point in an all-Vietnam showdown.

Also with five points going into the penultimate round were FM Nguyen Duc Hoa of Vietnam, who toppled GM Darwin Laylo of the Philippines; Chinese GM Zhou Weiqi, who beat Vietnamese IM Bao Khoa; and Vietnamese GM Cao Sang, who dumped compatriot IM Nguyen Van Huy.

Another Filipino campaigner, IM Oliver Dimakiling, whipped WIM Pham Le Thao Nguyen of Vietnam to lead four other foreign players with 4.5 points.

Merben Roque crushed compatriot FM Haridas Pascua to improve to four points and Emmanuel Senador outplayed WFM Ton Nu Hong An of Vietnam to rise to 3.5 points.

Newly-minted Filipino GM Roland Salvador settled for a draw with IM Tu Hoang Thai of Vietnam, and Cebu bet IM Kim Steven Yap split the point with untitled Vo Thanh Ninh of Vietnam to remain in the middle pack with only four and 3.5 points, respectively.

In crucial Round 8 matches, Gomez takes on Zhou, Barbosa battles Le, Bitoon faces Wen, Dimakiling meets Tran, Laylo goes up against Thai and Salvador tackles WGM Irine Kharisma Sukandar of Indonesia.

National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president/chairman Prospero “Butch” Pichay lauded the Filipinos’ strong showing against their Chinese and Vietnamese rivals and urged them to play better in the remaining two rounds.

“I think our players are doing well despite the presence of strong Vietnamese and Chinese players. John Paul has a very good chance to win the title depending on his performance in the last two rounds,” said Pichay, who is fully supporting the trip of the 11-man Filipino delegation.