By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
International Master Michael Concio Jr. delivered a dominant performance by sweeping all nine of his matches to capture the premier standard title at the 1st Bangkok Summer International Chess Open in Thailand on Wednesday, July 9.
The 19-year-old standout from Dasmariñas, Cavite went undefeated in the week-long tournament, toppling a field that included two Grandmasters — teammate Daniel Quizon in Round 4 and Indian GM Sayantan Das in Round 7.
Concio’s other victories came against Paul Aston Nguyen of Hong Kong, teammate Davin Sean Romualdez, Nay Lin Tun of Myanmar, Babu Nithin of India, Alan Morris-Suzuki of the United States, and Arsens Batashevs of Latvia.
His performance was so commanding that he finished two full points ahead of Babu Nithin and Sayantan Das, who settled for second and third places, respectively.
Quizon, who earlier defeated Russian FIDE Master Alexander Chernyavsky, finished fourth with 6.5 points, edging out the latter on tiebreaks.
Concio’s brilliance capped a PH sweep of the tournament’s inaugural edition, following Quizon’s earlier triumphs in the rapid and blitz events.
