Claro overwhelms Sevillano, shares Shell chess lead

MANILA, Philippines - University of Cebu’s Diego Claro toppled top seed Rhenzi Sevillano in the fourth round then beat No. 3 Kenneth Tabada in the fifth to force a three-way tie for the lead midway through the Shell National Youth Active Chess Championship Mindanao leg at SM Davao Event Center in Davao City over the weekend.

The ninth-ranked Claro’s back-to-back upset wins capped the day of reversals as No. 10 Danilo Engay Jr. upended No. 7 John Acedo and fifth seed Neptali Batucan III and No. 11 Aljie Cantonjos stunned No. 8 Michael Gastala and fourth seed Clark Añabieza as the troika shared the boys’ juniors lead at five points heading to the final day of the nine-round Swiss system tournament sponsored by Pilipinas Shell.