Barbosa joint 2nd in Brunei Open

MANILA, Philippines - Former Southeast Asian Games silver medalist Filipino International Master (IM) Oliver Barbosa finished tied for second in the Brunei 2011 International Master (IM) Chess Tournament in Brunei Darussalam last week.

The 24-year-old Barbosa tied Vietnamese GM Nguyen Anh Dung, Jahongir Vakhidov and Brunei’s promising player FIDE Master Yee Soon Wei at six points.

Yee Soon Wei and Vakhidov attained International Master norms.

National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president/chairman Butch Pichay Jr. cited Barbosa’s impressive performances abroad.

Barbosa, next in line in the long list of Filipino IMs hoping to become a GM this year, shared first place with Georgian GM Zurab Azmaiparashvili in the ASEAN Championship in Singapore last December, and finished joint second in the 2011 Moscow Open chess championships at the Russia State Social University last month.

The multi-titled campaigner from Taytay, Rizal, who wound up eighth in the recent HD Bank Vietnam Open in Ho Chi Minh last month, swept his last four matches in Bruneit, including a penultimate round victory over the highly-rated GM Pavel Kotsur of Kazakhstan.

Uzbek IM Khamrakulov Dzhurabek won the tournament with 6.5 points.