Janelle Mae Frayna ends up 4th in Malaysia after costly final round draw

MANILA, Philippines – Janelle Mae Frayna’s tie for first place lasted only  overnight.

On Wednesday morning, March 7,  in the final round of the First Friday Masters tournament in Selangor, Malaysia, the Woman Grandmaster from the Philippines was only able to draw while her three co-leaders snatched wins.

It was Woman Grandmaster Tokhirjonova Gulrukhbegim of Uzbekistan who emerged the winner over International Masters Nguyen Van Huy of Vietnam and Wynn Zaw Htun of Myanmar. Both finished with identical 6.5 points but Gulrukhbegim had the higher tiebreak score.

Frayna’s efforts to squeeze a win out of an even endgame only gave her a draw against Patil Mitali Madukhar of India in 88 moves of a Pirc Defense. This gave her fourth place with 6 points.

She was tied for first with 3 others at the end the penultimate round, even enjoying a wide tiebreak advantage.

“WGM Janelle failed to convert a winning position in the final 9th round,” said Frayna’s coach Jayson Gonzales in a Viber message. But Gonzales did not say what stage of the game proved crucial. 

Frayna finished the 10-man tournament held at the Institute for Chess Excellence in Selangor, Malaysia with four wins, four draws and one loss to Van Huy of Vietnam. – Rappler.com