Ivan Travis Cu (Contributed photo)
MANILA – Filipinos Ivan Travis Cu and Tyrhone James Tabernilla won their respective matches on Thursday to boost their title campaigns after six rounds of the Eastern Asian Youth Chess Championships at the Cititel Hotel in Penang, Malaysia.
Cu, a 15-year-old FIDE Master, defeated Mongolian FM Battulga Tenuunbold to join Vietnamese Dang Anh Minh and Malaysian Poh Yu Tian on top of the premier Open Under-18 category with five points each.
The match between Dang and Poh, who earned his FIDE Master title when he was 13, ended in a draw.
Indonesia Reynard Kristopher, who prevailed over Filipino Oscar Joseph Cantela, is in second place with 4.5 points.
Cu, a runner-up in an International Master tournament in Hanoi, Vietnam last May, has the best performance so far among the five Filipinos in the Under-18 division.
Frank Loyd Andes is tied for third with Battulga and compatriot AIM Soninbayar Tuguldur, and Vietnamese Tran Vo Quoc Bao with four points each.
Cantela and John Dave Lavandero each both have 3.5 points, while FM Christian Gian Karlo Arca has three points.
Meanwhile, Tabernilla defeated compatriot Io Aristotle Nikolai Calica to take solo lead with five points in the Under-16 category.
Hong Kong's Chan Wang Ip Boris and Vietnam's Huynh Le Minh Hoang are tied for second with 4.5 points each followed by Calica, Chinese Li Dianqi, Mongolian Burentegsh, Malaysians Yong Je Pin Ian and Lim Feng Wei Ferris, Japanese Daniel Haruma Rolston and Filipino Keith Andrei Ilar.
The national team is supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, National Chess Federation of the Philippines and the Philippine Olympic Committee. (PNA)
