Bangkok: Filipino FIDE Master Christian Gian Karlo Arca stunned top seed German Super Grandmaster Jan Gustafsson Tuesday night to keep his share of the lead in the 22nd Bangkok Chess Club Open at the Royal Orchid Sheraton Riverside Hotel in Thailand. Arca, playing the white pieces, prevailed over two-time champion Gustafsson (ELO 2601) after 39 moves of a Reti Opening.
According to Philippines News Agency, the 16-year-old from Panabo City, Davao del Norte, who is the youngest in the National Training Pool, expressed his aspirations following the victory. “I hope I can sustain my good performance so I can possibly get an IM norm or GM norm,” said Arca, who has an ELO rating of 2250.
In other matches, IM Michael Concio Jr. decisively defeated CM Benhood Delavari of Iran, while IM Paulo Bersamina overcame compatriot Marc Kevin Labog. These victories allowed them to join Arca at the top of the standings with 3.0 points. They are accompanied by GM Evgeny Romanov of Macedonia, GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly of India, GM Vitaliy Bernadskiy of Ukraine, IM James Morris of Australia, GM Stephen Gordon of England, IM Arif Abdul Hafiz of Indonesia, Wei Yuyang of China, GM Babu MR Lalith of India, and FM Alexander Chernyavsky of Russia.
Meanwhile, in the Challenger category, Filipinos WNM Arvie Lozano, John Paul De Guzman, and Remark Bartolome maintained perfect scores after three rounds. They share the lead with Zwe Wait Yan Lin of Myanmar, Tran Nguyen Dang Koa of Vietnam, Azzamy Khalid Shafwan of Indonesia, and Nikolay Gutsulyak of Russia.
Additionally, Filipino Almario Marlon Quiroz Bernardino Jr. secured his second win in three outings by defeating Peerathat Asvahem of Thailand.
