By Krystel Satumbaga
International Master Paul Bersamina bounced back from a seventh round loss with an impressive win over Chinese Yuan Qingyu in the 8th round of the Asian Universities Chess Championships Thursday night at the Tagaytay City Convention Center.
With the win, Bersamina stayed in title hunt as he improved to 5.5 points, tying compatriot and fellow IM John Miciano who halved the point with Chinese IM Wang Chen.
The two are one point behind Chinese IM Xu Yi, who was held to a draw by Indonesian IM Muhammad Lutfi Ali.
Bersamina and Miciano are hoping to hurdle their final assignments when they face Wang and Ali, respectively.
Meantime, Woman International Masters (WIM) Bernadette Galas and Marie Antoinette San Diego kissed their title bids goodbye after their failure to produce the much-needed results.
Galas drew with fellow local bet Kylen Mordido and fell 1.5 points behind Woman Grand Master Wang Jue of China, who beat compatriot Liu Manli for 7 points.
San Diego, for her part, slipped to 5 points after bowing to WIM Qiu Mengjie also from China.
