IM Yap, Montoya finish at top 10 in the cash-rich Negros International Chess Open
TWO Cebuano chess players made good account of themselves by barging into the top 10 in the tough Open division of the Piaya Network 2017 Negros International Open Chess Tournament which ended yesterday at the District Northpoint in Talisay City, Negros Occidental.
International Master (IM) Kim Steven Yap and Edsel Montoya collected crucial points in the final two rounds to finish in 7th and 9th spots, respectively.
IM Yap (2,361 Elo ratings) was most impressive as he beat his last two opponents to collect 6.0 points good for 7th place.
The untitled Montoya (Elo 2,262) meanwhile, had 1.5 points in the last two rounds to leapfrog from 15th to 9th overall with 5.5 points.
Top seed Grand Master (GM) Nigel Short of England dominated the nine-round, $13,000 competition with 8.0 points.
IM Yap beat 40th seed Danmaersk Mangao in the eighth round and fellow Cebuano Merben Roque in the 9th while Montoya drew with 28th seed Xavier John Verdun in the 8th then beat Kevin Mirano in the final round.
IM Yap pocketed $700 while Montoya received $400. GM Short walked away with the $3,000 champion’s purse.
The top 10 in the final rankings:
GM Short (8.0), GM Karen Grigoryan (7.0), GM Duc Hoa Nguyen (7.0), GM Srinath Narayanan (6.0), GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. (6.0), IM Minh Thang Tran (6.0), IM Yap (6.0), IM Oliver Dimakiling (6.0), Montoya (5.5) and IM Ronald Dableo (5.5).