By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Filipina teenage wonder Ruelle Canino drew with Russian Evgenija Ovod of to keep her title and Woman Grandmaster bids alive after the eighth and penultimate round of the 6th ASEAN Individual Chess Championships-Gov. Henry Oaminal Cup at the Asenso Misamis Occidental Resort and Aquamarine Park in Ozamiz on Friday, Nov. 7.
Playing the black pieces, the 17-year-old Woman FIDE Master from Cagayan de Oro needed 33 moves of a Sicilian to avert a defeat after being threatened checkmate.
That kept the reigning national champion and Olympiad veteran at second alongside top-seeded Russian WFM Anna Zhurova with six points apiece, half a point behind Ovod, who has 6.5 points.
Zhurova downed compatriot Woman International Master Ekaterina Smirnova in 45 moves of a Ruy Lopez to likewise stay in the hunt in this nine-round tournament backed by the Philippine Sports Commission.
Canino was battling Mongolian WFM Batpelden Buyankhishig in the final round at posting time and hoping for a win that would fan her hopes of winning this event and claiming the WGM title.
She has already amassed a whopping 95.2 rating points that should help her breach the 2200-rating plateau for the first time in her young, promising career.
Buyankhishig, meanwhilrle, earlier smashed WIM Bernadette Galas in 26 moves of a Queen’s Gambit Declined.
In the open section, FM Mark Jay Bacojo pulled off the biggest result of the round following a shock 24-move victory over Vietnamese GM Tran Tuan Minh of a Nimzo-Indian Defense to forge a three-way tie at second with 5.5 points.
The win enabled the 19-year-old Far Eastern University Psychology student to tie Mongolian IM Munkhdalai Amilal and Vietnamese IM Nguyen Quoc Hy, who fought to a 46-move draw of a Scotch game.
Bacojo hopes to beat Amilal to secure a podium finish.
Indian IM V S Raahul trounced Indonesian FM Fabiano Glen Mariano in 38 moves of a Nimzo-Indian duel to virtually clinch the title with 6.5 points.
