Bacojo continues pursuit of Grandmaster title
MANILA, Philippines — The road to Grandmaster status resumes for Mark Jay Bacojo as he sees action in two strong tournaments in the Battle of the GMs later this month and the Asian Individual Chess Championships in Mongolia a month after.
The 19-year-old Far Eastern University standout claimed his first GM result in an ultra-strong meet in Moscow, Russia where he wound up tied for second and eventually third after tiebreakers were applied.
“He has one GM norm and if he wins in both the Battle of the GMs in April and Mongolia in May, he could complete the required three GM norms,” said Bacojo’s coach in GM Jayson Gonzales.
Bacojo has improved by leaps and bounds in a span of a year as he also clinched an outright International Master title by finishing a solid third in the 6th ASEAN Individual Championships in Ozamiz City late last year.
He followed it up with a scintillating performance in the Russian capital, a super power in the sport.
Bacojo hopes to become the country’s 19th GM, which could come two years after Daniel Quizon ended the country’s GM drought in the Budapest Olympiad two years back.
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