Cavite boy upsets Asian women’s chess champion

MANILA, Philippines – Daniel Quizon upset Asian women’s chess champion Vo Thi Kim Phung in the 6th round Tuesday, March 13 of the HD Bank Cup in Hanoi.

Quizon, playing black, defeated Vo in 64 moves of a King’s Indian Defense. The 14-year-old from Dasmarinas, Cavite, now has 3 points from three wins, all against women.

It was Quizon’s second grandmaster scalp in the nine-round Swiss System event considered the strongest in Southeast Asia. In the second round, Quizon defeated Chinese woman grandmaster Gu Xiaobing. In round four, he beat Thipsay Sathe of India, a woman international master.

Vo’s Elo rating of 2425 and Gu’s 2354 are higher than Quizon’s 2204. Sathe’s Elo is 2000.

But the best Filipino, with three rounds left in this tournament, is 2017 national champion Haridas Pascua with 4 points out of six. Oliver Dimakiling, like Quizon, has three points. Roel Abelgas, the coach of the Dasmarinas crew, has 2.5 points like Emmanuel Emperado.

In the challenger section of the HD Bank Cup, Michael Occido leads with 5.5 points out of six rounds, half-a-point ahead of a Vietnamese rival. – Rappler.com