Tweet
philstar.com
Mark eyes place in chess history
The Philippine Star 09/08/2004
With his second grandmaster norm safely tucked under his belt,
International Master Mark Paragua now eyes a place in Philippine
chess history.
The 20-year-old Paragua beat IM Elina Danielian of Armenia in the
14th and penultimate round to seize the solo lead in the Alushta GM
Tournament in Ukraine.
He now has 10.5 points, half-a-point ahead of IMs Yuriy Kuzubov of
Ukraine and Roman Ovetchkin of Russia and at least two points clear
of his other pursuers.
Kuzubov, tied with the Filipino after 13 rounds, got stalled by a draw
by GM Ramil Hasangatin of Russia while Ovetchkin shocked top seed GM
Vladimir Malaniuk of Ukraine to stay in the hunt for the title and
a GM norm.
A victory would make Paragua the first Filipino player since the late
GM Rosendo Balinas Jr. to win a closed tournament in a former Soviet
Union republic. Balinas did the trick in the Odessa tournament in 1976,
earning him the GM title in the process.
"Malaking bonus na para sa akin kung ako ang magtsa-champion dito
(Alushta GMT). Ang talagang target ko lang sa pagsali sa ganitong
event eh 'yung GM norm," said Paragua.
When informed of the opportunity to accomplish a rare feat, Paragua
said it just made him more determined to win.
"Lalo akong na-motivate para manalo," he said while admitting that
he's not aware of that prospect before.
Paragua will face FIDE Master Evgeni Kobylkin of Ukraine, who is tied
at eighth to ninth places with 6.5 points, in the final round.
One thing going for Paragua is that his closest pursuers - Kuzubov
and Ovetchkin - are not expected to go all out in their last outing.
Kuzubov, who will meet Malaniuk, and Ovetchkin, who will go up against
Nino Khurtsidze of Georgia, tallied 10 points heading into the last
round, just .5 short of the required score to clinch a GM norm.
Mark eyes place in chess history
The Philippine Star 09/08/2004
With his second grandmaster norm safely tucked under his belt,
International Master Mark Paragua now eyes a place in Philippine
chess history.
The 20-year-old Paragua beat IM Elina Danielian of Armenia in the
14th and penultimate round to seize the solo lead in the Alushta GM
Tournament in Ukraine.
He now has 10.5 points, half-a-point ahead of IMs Yuriy Kuzubov of
Ukraine and Roman Ovetchkin of Russia and at least two points clear
of his other pursuers.
Kuzubov, tied with the Filipino after 13 rounds, got stalled by a draw
by GM Ramil Hasangatin of Russia while Ovetchkin shocked top seed GM
Vladimir Malaniuk of Ukraine to stay in the hunt for the title and
a GM norm.
A victory would make Paragua the first Filipino player since the late
GM Rosendo Balinas Jr. to win a closed tournament in a former Soviet
Union republic. Balinas did the trick in the Odessa tournament in 1976,
earning him the GM title in the process.
"Malaking bonus na para sa akin kung ako ang magtsa-champion dito
(Alushta GMT). Ang talagang target ko lang sa pagsali sa ganitong
event eh 'yung GM norm," said Paragua.
When informed of the opportunity to accomplish a rare feat, Paragua
said it just made him more determined to win.
"Lalo akong na-motivate para manalo," he said while admitting that
he's not aware of that prospect before.
Paragua will face FIDE Master Evgeni Kobylkin of Ukraine, who is tied
at eighth to ninth places with 6.5 points, in the final round.
One thing going for Paragua is that his closest pursuers - Kuzubov
and Ovetchkin - are not expected to go all out in their last outing.
Kuzubov, who will meet Malaniuk, and Ovetchkin, who will go up against
Nino Khurtsidze of Georgia, tallied 10 points heading into the last
round, just .5 short of the required score to clinch a GM norm.