Velarde still in contention for bronze in ASEAN chess

WITH just a single round remaining in the nine-round standard division competition, it seems that only one Cebuano player, Jerish John Velarde, has a chance of salvaging a medal in the 19th ASEAN+ Age Groups Chess in Davao City.

The 12-year-old chess phenom from Lapu-Lapu City recovered after upsetting fifth-seed Dang Loc Bui of Vietnam in the eighth round yesterday to climb back to third place.

Velarde has 5.5 points in the under-12 division and must win his ninth-round game against fourth-seed Candidate Master (CM) Hoang Gia Bao Vu of Vietnam to stand a chance of winning a bronze.

The ninth round is still being played as of press time.

CM Quoc Hy Nguyen has a perfect 8.0 points to virtually seal the title in the under-12 division.

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