LAPU-LAPU City’s chess phenom Jerish John Velarde remained at the 32nd spot after five rounds in the 12-under division standard competition of the ongoing Asian Youth Chess Championships 2018 in Thailand.
The 12-year-old Velarde won against Thailand’s Noppakun Promchan in the fifth round yesterday to recover from his fourth-round loss to fourth-seed M. Pranesh of India on Wednesday. He now has 3.0 points off three wins with two losses.
He is set to play against another tough opponent, eighth-seed Kazakhstan’s Dias Alimbetov, in today’s sixth round.
Candidate Master (CM) and the tournament’s top seed D. Gukesh of India is still at solo first with 5.5 points while second-seed Bardiya Danishvar of Iran and Chinese Bai Changlin are tied at the second spot with 5.0 points.
Last weekend, Velarde bagged a bronze medal — the lone medal by the Philippines in the tournament — in the rapid competition.