GM Bitoon regains share of lead in Singapore chessfest
By Marlon Bernardino
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 30 Dec 2011
AFTER a sorry loss in the fifth round, Filipino Grandmaster Richard Bitoon bounced back in contention yesterday.
The Medellin, Cebu native Bitoon defeated International Master Hafizulhelmi of Malaysia in the sixth round to regain a share of the lead in the 2nd ASEAN Men Campomanes Cup, the centerpiece event of the Singapore Chess Festival at the Jurong East Sports Complex in Singapore.
The victory was a quick and resounding response to his loss at the hands of IM Nguyen Van Huy of Vietnam, pushed his total to 4.5 points, and put him back on top along with fellow GMs Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia and Cao Sang of Vietnam.
?Marami pang puwedeng mangyari. As long as hawak ko ?yung kapalaran ko walang dahilan para mag-panic,? said Bitoon, who kept his usual jovial self following his loss on Wednesday night.
Megaranto relinquished the outright lead after settling for a draw opposite Nguyen Duc Hoa of Vietnam. Cao also gained a share of the lead following his win over FIDE Master Daniel Chan of Singapore.
Meanwhile, the reigning national junior champion replaced the former national junior titlist as the country?s brightest hope in the Singapore Open.
This year?s junior champ Mari Joseph Turqueza scored his third straight win by beating Rahman Masruri of Indonesia and improved to 4.5 points to move within half point of the co-leaders FM Andrean Susilodinata of Indonesia and Christer Jon Aplin of Singapore. Overnight co-leader and 1996 national junior champ Roberto Suelo, Jr. bowed to Aplin to fall a full point behind the leaders.
Veteran campaigner Alex Milagrosa put more pressure on the leaders after downing Malaysia?s national champion Lim Zhuo Ren in the sixth round.
Also in contention were GM Eldar Gasanov of Ukraine with 4.5 points and FM Hamed Nouri and Suelo with 4.0 points.
The country?s young players also remained in hot pursuit of the title. They continued to at least share a piece of the lead in four of the eight divisions entering the backstretch of the 2nd Singapore International Youth Championships.
Vince Angelo Medina drew with Azman Hisham Mohd Nabil of Singapore to keep solo leadership with 5.0 points in the Open Under-17; Michelle Yaon notched her fifth win in five games at the expense of Olivia Madhavan of Malaysia to solidify her hold of the lead in the Girls U-17; Paulo Bersamina remained perfect in six games and maintained a full point advantage over the rest f the field in the Open U-14 after beating Azhar Muhd Irfan Haqqim of Singapore; and Dennis Gutierrez III grabbed the solo lead with a win over Alfred Chua of Singapore in the Open U-8.
The Filipinos chess campaign in Singapore would not possible with the undying support of National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) Chairman/President Prospero "Butch" Pichay Jr., Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Ricardo Garcia and Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Peping Cojuangco.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Marlon Bernardino.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
By Carlos Costa, Sun, 14 Sep 2025A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
Sun, 14 Sep 2025Battle of Undefeated: Callum Walsh Vanquishes Fernando Vargas Jr.
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Undercard Inferno: Mbilli and Martinez Deliver a Super Middleweight War Ending in a Thrilling Draw
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Crawford to defy odds?
By Joaquin Henson, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Clash of Titans: The Final Predictions for Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Weigh-In Results: Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev
Sun, 14 Sep 2025Inoue and Akhmadaliev Make Weight for Sunday's Battle, Watch it LIVE on Facebook!
By Carlos Costa, Sun, 14 Sep 2025IIEE North Cotabato and Metro Central are the Golden Champion on 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Chess
By Marlon Bernardino, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Sydney Sy Tancontian is Female Awardee of Sports Hero of the Year
By Lito delos Reyes, Sat, 13 Sep 2025Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford: Size Matters
By Chris Carlson, Sat, 13 Sep 2025BOOTS TALKS SPARRING WITH CANELO IN ‘DAY IN THE LIFE’
Sat, 13 Sep 2025WEIGHTS FROM LAS VEGAS: CANELO - 167.5 LBS., CRAWFORD - 167.5 LBS.
By Dong Secuya, Sat, 13 Sep 2025BELFAST: WEIGH-IN RESULTS AND FIGHT NIGHT RUNNING ORDER
Sat, 13 Sep 2025