by Kristel Satumbaga
Woman International Master (WIM) Marie Antoinette San Diego clinched her first victory and barged into the Top 20 after four rounds of the Asian Continental Chess Championships in Xingtai, China on Monday.
San Diego bested Zhang Xiao of China to improve to 2 points for a share of 16th place with six others on one win, two draws and one loss.
Also with two points was Woman FIDE Master Shania Mae Mendoza who likewise snared her first win at the expense of another Chinese in Yan Tianqi after drawing her first two matches and losing the third round.
WIMs Bernadette Galas and Kylen Joy Mordido, however, were unfortunate, bowing to Chinese WIM Gu Tianlu and Gulmira Dauletova of Kazakhstan for identical 1.5 points at shared 23rd place.
Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna, for her part, skidded near the bottom with 1 point after succumbing to WGM Mary Ann Gomes.
In men’s play, GM Darwin Laylo prevailed over FM Mehdi Hasan Parag of Bangladesh while IM Paulo Bersamina snared his second straight win against China’s Wang Shixu for a crowded share of 28th to 48th places with 2 points.
