ROUND four proved unlucky for two of the top Cebuano wood pushers competing in the stacked Open division of the ongoing Piaya Network 2017 Negros International Open Chess Tournament in Talisay City, Negros Occidental.
This after 21st seed Edsel Montoya (2262 Elo rating) and 10th seed International Master (IM) Kim Steven Yap (2361) lost to their respective rivals yesterday.
The two however, remained in the Top 10 of the $12,900 chess meet.
Montoya, who shared the lead in the first three rounds with a perfect 3.0 tally after beating 49th seed Diosdado Gelig and upsetting sixth seed IM Ronald Dableo and second seed Grand Master (GM) Karen Grigoryan of Armenia in that order, fell to current leader and ninth seed GM Rogelio
Antonio Jr., in the fourth round. He fell from a share of the lead all the way down to 5th with 3.0 points.
IM Yap meanwhile, fell to a share of 10th place after losing to top seed GM Nigel Short of England in the fourth round.
He won his first two assignments against 35th seed Michael Concio Jr. and 23rd seed Daniel Quizon and drew with 17th seed and fellow Cebuano
Rommel Ganzon in the third round before losing to Short.
Montoya is playing Short in the fifth round which is being played as of press time while IM Yap is battling 19th seed Jayson Salubre.
Current leader, GM Antonio Jr., stayed perfect after four rounds (4.0 points) of the tournament organized by the A&V Negros Chess Club Inc., in cooperation with the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP).
The Top 10 after four rounds: GM Antonio Jr. (4.0), GM Srinath Narayanan (3.5), GM Duc Hoa Nguyen (3.5), GM Short (3.5), Montoya (3.0), IM Ronald Dableo (3.0), NM Emmanuel Emperado (3.0), Allan Asuela (3.0), IM Minh Thang Tran (2.5) and IM Yap (2.5).
The nine-round, Swiss system tournament awards $3,000 to the Open division champion.