GM candidate Arca gains lead in ASEAN Individual Chess tilt

MANILA, Philippines — Christian Gian Karlo Arca has jumped from a FIDE Master early this year to an International Master last August and possibly, if the stars align, the country’s newest Grandmaster before the year ends.

This after the 16-year-old Arca zoomed to the top of the 6th ASEAN Individual Chess Championships-Gov. Henry Oaminal Cup after hurdling another Filipino Tyrhone James Tabernilla in the third round at the Misamis Occidental Resort and Aquamarine Park in Ozamiz.

But Arca’s early pawn sacrifice nearly cost him the game.

Good thing Tabernilla went berserk with an erroneous knight sacrifice that allowed the Panabo, Davao del Norte native to gain a piece and an attack that resulted in a 57-move triumph of a Catalan.

He can’t afford to be careless again as he was battling third seed IM V S Raahul of India, who drew with erstwhile co-leader Grandmaster Tran Tuan Minh of Vietnam, in the fourth round as of this writing.

If Arca pulls off a victory again, he, with five rounds to go, would be in prime position to rule this event that would seal him the one prize he had longed hoped to achieve — the GM title.

Sharing the top spot with Arca, Raahul and Tran with 2.5 points each was Mongolian IM Munkhdalai Amilal.

Making a big title chase was a group of 11 woodpushers with two points each, among them Filipinos in GM John Paul Gomez and IMs Pau Bersamina, Jem Garcia, Michael Concio, Jr. and Kim Steven Yap.

WFM Ruelle Canino, for her part, found her WGM campaign crashed to a screeching halt after blowing what looked like a drawn result and into a painful 53-move defeat to WGM Hoang Thi Bao Tram of Vietnam.

It sent the reigning national titlist stumbling down into an 11-player logjam at No. 6 with two points each.

Olympiad teammates WGM Janelle Mae Frayna and WIMs Bernadette Galas and Jan Jodilyn Fronda and World Youth bronze medalist Jemaica Yap Mendoza were part of that group.