3rd Super Grandmaster arrives home from India
Friday, 27 January 2012 00:00
FILIPINO chess player Oliver Barbosa became the third Super Philippine Grandmaster after bagging the overall title in the 10th Parsvath International Grandmasters Chess Open Tournament last Jan. 14-23 at Ludlow Castle Sports Complex, Civil Lines in New Delhi, India . The 25-year-old Barbosa arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminal 1 along with compatriots John Paul Gomez and Mark Paragua, who settled with second and fourth places, respectively, aboard Malaysia Airlines flight 704.
Barbosa, a native of Taytay, Rizal, finished with 9.5 points undefeated - eight wins and three draws - in the elevenround Swiss system tournament and took home a trophy and US$6,000 cash. While Gomez and Paragua, got a US$4,000 and US$1,800 for second and fourth places, respectively. The victory enabled the former University of the Philippines mainstay (Barbosa) to raise his Elo rating to 2627 from 2573. "We in the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) are very grateful to present Oliver Barbosa, our newest Super Grandmaster in Philippine History," according to NCFP chair-president Prospero "Butch" Pichay.
Pichay is fully supporting the players' overseas campaign as part of the Philippine Team preparation for this year's 38th World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey in close cooperation with the Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee. Paragua, was the first super Grandmaster to reach 2600 mark in Philippine history after he placed second in the 2006 Asian Zonal 3.3 Chess Championships, followed by Cavite whiz kid Wesley So who achieved the super grandmaster title upon reaching Elo 2627 in 2009. The Bulacan-based Paragua scored 8.5 points to finish overall fourth in the tournament. At present, Paragua has an Elo rating of 2546. Meanwhile, GM John Paul Gomez who beat fellow nine pointers Ma Qun of China in tie break points has a live rating of 2553. PNA
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