MANILA, Philippines - Grandmasters Mark Paragua, Darwin Laylo and John Paul Gomez dominated their respective rivals but fancied Wesley So was held to a draw in the opener of the 11th Asian Continental Individual Chess Championships in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam over the weekend.
Paragua toppled Nguyen Van Hai of Vietnam, Laylo downed Farid Firman Syah of Indonesia while Gomez subdued Li Hanbin of China.
But So found Ma Qun of China a tough nut to crack, settling for a draw like fellow Filipino GMs Eugene Torre and Joey Antonio.
Torre split the point with Vietnam IM Bao Khoa while Antonio halved the point with IM Go Wei Ming of Singapore.
GM Oliver Barbosa was also held to a draw by compatriot IM Jan Emmanuel Garcia.
Meanwhile, No.35 pick GM Xiu Deshun of China defeated top seed GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam to post the biggest win in the first round of the event serving as a qualifier for the World Chess Cup.