Pinoy chessers off to hot start in Penang Open
By Marlon Bernardino
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 09 Apr 2024
Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia---International Master Jose Efren Bagamasbad and FIDE Master Christopher Castellano of the Philippines got off to blazing start by winning their second round matches in the 4th Penang Chess Open Chess Championship 2024 at the St. Xavier's Institution in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia on Monday, April 8.
Bagamasbad defeated Yu Hang Koay of Malaysia while Castellano subdued compatriot National Master Leonardo Alidani.
“The first two rounds are one of the toughest rounds in any tournament. It usually sets the tone of how you’re going to perform,” said the 8th-seeded Bagamasbad, the reigning back-to-back Asian Seniors 65 over category champion.
“We hope to perform well in this event and gain some Elo rating points,” added the 4th-seeded Castellano.
The Quezon City resident Bagamasbad also beat No.34 Divyadarrshini Loganathan of Malaysia in Round 1 while the Cainta, Rizal bet Castellano toppled No. 30 Ee Hern Leong of Malaysia.
The usual suspects also made their presence felt early.
Top seed FIDE Master Yu Tian Poh of Malaysia, No.7 Xin Hao Looi of Malaysia, No.10 AIM Chee Sian Sebastien Chua of Malaysia, No. 16 Maximiliano Marrhuimawan of Indonesia and No.25 Ting Han Choo of Malaysia.
Poh crushed No.11 Jason Rojo of the Philippines, Looi waylaid No.23 Zong Ze Cheah of Malaysia, Chua dismantled No.24 Shu Heng Ng of Malaysia, Marrhuimawan upset No.2 IM Angelo Young of the Philippines and Choo beat No.9 Nathanael Dieudonne B Simanihuruk of Indonesia.
No. 5 NM Gerald Ferriol and No.12 NM Almario Marlon Bernardino Jr., both from the Philippines also opened with impressive results.
Ferriol defeated No. 31 Vishant Naidu Patini of Malaysia in Round 1 then halved the point with No. 17 Wei Yang Lim of Malaysia.
Bernardino, on the other hand, drew with No. 38 Jia Yhu Lim of Malaysia and No. 26 Shanjay Ram Pragaesh of Malaysia.
The tournament is organized by Atty. See Swee Sie and Madam InHooi Teh of Penang Chess Association and is supported by Malaysian Chess Federation and St. Xavier's Institution.
Tournament director is IA Poay Sim Lim while Chief Arbiter is IA Jin Hai Jonathan Chuah.- Marlon Bernardino-
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Marlon Bernardino.
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