CEBUANO International Master (IM) Kim Steven Yap finished 12th place in the recently concluded Philippine International Chess Championships in Quezon City, Metro Manila.
Yap finished with 5.5 points in the open division after finishing with a draw against fifth seed Georgian Grand Master (GM) Merab Gagunashvili in the ninth round and losing to GM Darwin Laylo in the final round.
Georgian GM Levan Pantsulaia clinched the top spot with 7.0 points. Top-seed GM Ivan Popov of Russia finished second followed by GM Gagunashvili.
Yap continued his bid to earn a GM norm as he started his campaign in the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC)-Puregold International Chess Challenge yesterday in Metro Manila.
Yap is hopeful that he’ll do good in the tournament as he hopes to be an official GM in the Philippines.
“Mobawi lang ko sa next tournament. Basin nindot akong performance didto,” Yap said.