Paragua draws with Indian GM, keeps lead

MANILA, Philippines - Grandmaster Mark Paragua engaged Indian GM Baskaran Adhiban to a fighting draw to remain atop the heap alongside second seed Chinese GM Li Chao and Uzbek GM Marat Dzhumaev after seven rounds of the $100,000 Asian Continental Chess Championships dubbed the “Manny Pacquiao Cup” at the Midas Hotel and Casino in Pasay Friday night.

Playing black, Paragua, 29, parried Adhiban’s queenside onslaught in their Queen’s Pawn game with precise defensive maneuvers and came out a pawn up and a potentially dangerous passed pawn on the a-file.

But Adhiban found a way to regain his pawn disadvantage with a pawn capture on the center and handled his pieces well enough to force a standoff in their match in this event organized by the Eugene Torre Foundation.

They agreed to a draw in a bishop-and-rook against knight-and-bishop ending.

“I’m contented with the draw although I tried translating it into a win,” said Paragua, the highest-ranked chesser in the country before super GM Wesley So’s emergence.

Li likewise seized an early pawn advantage but wound up halving the point with US-based Filipino GM Julio Catalino Sadorra after the latter found a way to send it into a draw in an opposite-colored bishop ending of a Gruenfeld battle.