Filipino International Master Jem Garcia pulled off a shock draw with former world champion Magnus Carslen before bowing out from quarterfinal contention in the ASEAN ESports Chess Cup at the Four Seasons in Bangkok, Thailand.
Garcia actually needed a victory over Carlsen, the highest rated chesser in the world, but just couldn’t get anything and settled for a 51-move draw in their Reti showdown in the fourth and final round in Group A.
He finished third in their five-player bracket with 2.5 points, behind Carlsen’s 3.5 points and Spanish Grandmaster Jose Martinez’s three points.
Both Carlsen and Martinez advanced to the quarters of this meet organized by WR Chess, a group founded by Wadim Rosenstein, the same person who bankrolled the inaugural Bughouse Championships at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in BGC, Taguig early this month.
But it could have been Garcia advancing instead of Martinez had the former not blown his winning game the round before.
The Olympiad veteran was quality up entering the endgame but imploded and totally blundered his edge.
The event was not without an upset after former World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana was booted out after ending up No. 3 in Group B.
UAE’s GM Salem A.R. Saleh and Singaporean GM Tin Jingyao took the quarters berths instead.
