Champ of Champs

Fresh news:

Wesley So! Shell Battle of Champions King! Champ of Champs!

NM Erwin Carag sent this one thru SMS, received 5:15 PM:

IM Wesley SO is the Shell Battle of the champs King. 2 regulationgames with IM Oliver Dimakiling ended draws. In the sudden death armageddon game, Wesley in a winning positionwith black forced a draw to win the match. Rules say that black can only draw to win the match. Earlier, So eliminated Biag. Dimakiling won by time forfeit over Dableo in sudden death game. Kakatapos lang, fresh news!

Thanks Erwin!

Wesley So has proven himself that he is the one, The One! sponsors? we have less than four months to help him try to achieve or gain 2 more GM norms to become the fourth youngest GM ever.

Congratulations to Wesley So and all the players who played in the tournament. Congratulations also goes to the people behind the organization fo such event and of course, Pilipinas Shell!

Former Philippines' number 1, GM Mark Paragua settles for second place in the recently held Bradley Open in the US. Here's NM Marlon Bernardino's news:

GM MARK PARAGUA SETTLED FOR SECOND PLACE IN BRADLEY OPEN Final Standings: five round Swiss-system

4.5 points GM Alexander Ivanov (USA)

4.0 points-GM Mark Paragua (PHILIPPINES)

3.5 points- Igor Yeliseyev (Russia)

3.5 points-Andres Castaneda (Mexico)�

GRANDMASTER MARK PARAGUA failed to win his first major title this year when he finish second place in the just concluded 12th annual Bradley Open Chess Championship last June 15-17 at the Hardford/Windsor Marriott Hotel in Windsor, Connecticut.

The 23-years-old Paragua, the country's No.3 player with an Elo rating of 2532 finished total 4.0 points with three wins and two draws after five fames of play.

Paragua, the 2003 Vietnam Southeast Asian Games most bemedalled athlete with three gold defeated US masters Dale Eugene Sharp, Max Enkin and Richar Bauer in round 1, 2 and 4, respectively.

He agreed a 10 moves draw with eventual champion top seed GM Alexander Ivanov (Elo rating of 2565) of the United States in third round according to Paragua's spokesman Michael Adarlo.

Adarlo added if Paragua won his last round match against lowly-rated player Andres Castaneda of Mexico, who possessed an USCF rating of 2053, he (Paragua) can possible tie for first with Ivanov, who finished with 4.5 points.

Paragua, along with Adarlo and younger brother Jan Vincent are schedule to play in the 35th World Open Chess Championships on June 28 to July 4 at the Valley Forge Radisson and Convention Plaza, King of Prussia in Pennsylvania.

The triumvirate campaign (Mark and Jan Vincent Paragua and Michael Adarlo) are being supported by sportsman Jeremy Regino and Dickies Philippines VP president Dody T. Arcaya.

Meanwhile, former University of Manila (UM) mainstay Ruben Ondangan Jr., who hails from Marikina City, finished second place in the expert division (under 2200) of the 2007 Las Vegas Chess Festival was held in Las Vegas, Nevada. (MARLON BERNARDINO).