INDIA CHESS: GOMEZ WINS; BITOON FALTERS
By Marlon Bernardino
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 08 Jan 2012
GRANDMASTER (GM) John Paul Gomez continues his winning ways to keep the Philippine flag high. However, countryman GM Richard Bitoon yielded in the sixth round of SDAT-RMK 4th Chennai Open Grand Master Chess Tournament on Sunday in Chennai, India.
The Binan, Laguna bet Gomez toppled Navin Kanna of India to raised his total 5 points and climbed into a share of fifth to 15th placers in the company of GM Martin Kravtsiv of Ukraine, GM Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh, GM Hoang Thanh Trang of Hungrary, Ma Qun and Zeng Chongsheng of China, GM Sheturaman SP, International Masters (IMs) Himashu Sharma, Konguvel Ponnuswamy, Karthikeyan P and Debashis Das of India, conqueror of Bitoon.
With the setback, the Medellin, Cebu ace Bitoon was stuck at 4 points and was dropped into a tie for 41st to 77th placers that inlcudes compatriots GMs Mark Paragua and Oliver Barbosa.
The Bulacan based Paragua split the point with Hemant Sharma of India while the Taytay, Rizal native Barbosa routed Harini S of India.
Top seed GM Aleksej Aleksandrov of Belarus, meantime beat IM Jahongir Vakhidov of Uzbekistan to scored 5.5 points and create a four-way tie for first place together with GM Mikhailo Oleksienko of Ukraine, IM Vaibhav Suri of India and Yu Ruiyuan of China.
Oleksienko nipped IM Das Neeoltpal of India; Suri crushed IM Vishnu Prasanna of India and Ruiyuan clobbered IM Akshayraj Kore of India.
In the seventh round, Gomez will meet IM Karthikeyan; Bitoon opposite Hemant; Barbosa will play Pradeep Kumar of India while Paragua tangle Navalgund Niranjan of India.
Backed up by National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) Chairman/President Prospero "Butch" Pichay Jr., Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Ricardo "Richie" Garcia and Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Jose "Peping" Cojuangco, the India chess campaign is a part of the Philippine Chess Team preparation for this year's 38th World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Marlon Bernardino.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Lorenzo Parra Delivers Stunning Second-Round Knockout at Sold-Out Manny Pacquiao Promotions Event at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, N.Y.
Sun, 01 Mar 2026Almacen Bros Score Knockout Wins in Exciting Brico Santig Show in Thailand Live on TrillerTV
By Carlos Costa, Sun, 01 Mar 2026Lorenzo Patricio and Lavant Brownlee Advance to Gold Medal Round in Bulgaria
Sun, 01 Mar 2026HALL OF FAMER TIMOTHY BRADLEY JR. TO RETURN TO CANASTOTA FOR 2026 HALL OF FAME INDUCTION WEEKEND
Sun, 01 Mar 2026Paras stops Abcede in 2nd round
By Lito delos Reyes, Sun, 01 Mar 2026Undefeated Welterweight Ruben Aguilar Stops Luis Lopez in Eight Brutal Rounds in Main Event of ProBoxTV’s ‘The Contender Series’ at University of Texas in Arlington
Sun, 01 Mar 2026Patricio, Brownlee and Awinongya Enter Medal Rounds on Day Five of Strandja 2026 Boxing Tournament
Sun, 01 Mar 2026Matthew James Sugatan wins Flash-ADV 160 9-Ball Tournament at Pacman's Cue Club; pockets P30,000
By Marlon Bernardino, Sun, 01 Mar 2026IM Arca finishes in eight place in Pacquiao chess; NM Ilar pockets P100,000
By Marlon Bernardino, Sun, 01 Mar 2026DC Half Marathon on March 8 at Freedom Park
By Lito delos Reyes, Sun, 01 Mar 2026Athletics Festival Season 4 on March 21-22
By Lito delos Reyes, Sun, 01 Mar 2026Nuñez vs Navarrete: Knuckle Up for a Certified Banger
By Chris Carlson, Sat, 28 Feb 2026‘There's no way I'm going to lose’ -- Holly McMath looks to make a statement in high-stakes trilogy fight
Sat, 28 Feb 2026WEIGHTS, RUNNING ORDER AND FINAL WORDS FOR NAVARRETE VS. NUNEZ
Sat, 28 Feb 2026WEIGH-IN RESULTS FOR MANNY PACQUIAO PROMOTIONS: PIERCE VS. PARRA
Sat, 28 Feb 2026