Last Round

Interestingly, the tournament’s five top-seeds are in the Top 5 positions after the penultimate round of the Victory Central Mall Open Chess Championship in Caloocan City.

Look at the initial seedings:

No.1 GM Rogelio Antonio, Jr.
No.2 GM John Paul Gomez
No.3 IM Richard Bitoon
No.4 GM Darwin Laylo
No.5 GM Mark Paragua

Now, look at the positions after Round 8 (total of 73 players). The eggs were jumbled, but still the same basket.

No.1 GM Darwin Laylo 6.5
No.2 GM Mark Paragua 6.0
No.3 IM Richard Bitoon 6.0
No.4 GM Rogelio Antonio, Jr. 6.0
No.5 GM John Paul Gomez 6.0

And since this nine-round event is using the Swiss System, the last round pairings look exciting:

Board 1
GM Laylo vs IM Bitoon

Board 2
GM Paragua vs GM Antonio

Board 3
GM Gomez vs Ali Branzuela

If Laylo beats Bitoon, then Laylo would end up solo champ. But what if Laylo loses his game? Very interesting.

By the way, my eyes would be on Board 2. The battle in this Board promises to be a blazing encounter.

Complete rankings after Round 8:

Rk. Name Pts.
1 GM LAYLO Darwin 6.5
2 GM PARAGUA Mark 6
3 IM BITOON Richard 6
4 GM ANTONIO Rogelio Jr 6
5 GM GOMEZ John Paul 6
6 BRANZUELA Ali 6
7 IM NADERA Barlo A 5.5
8 GM GONZALES Jayson 5.5
9 SENADOR Emmanuel 5.5
10 CAUSO Deniel 5.5
11 ARROYO Christian 5.5
12 DATU Alcon John 5.5
13 IM GARMA Chito 5.5
14 FM CARLOS Leonardo 5.5
15 LEGASPI Rhobel 5
16 BAGAMASBAD Efren 5
17 BITOON Jimson 5
18 RICANA Leodegario 5
19 MANAOG Stewart 5
DIAZ Conrado 5
21 LABAY Rainer 5
22 GARMA Edgardo 4.5
23 ARGUELLES Efren 4.5
24 ANDADOR Rolando 4.5
25 MAGA Mirabeau 4.5
PORTUGALERA Ric 4.5
27 IM NOLTE Rolando 4.5
28 SUELO Roberto Jr 4.5
DELA CRUZ Richard 4.5
EVANGELISTA Ritchie 4.5
31 TRAJERA Ryan 4.5
32 MILAGROSA Alexander 4
33 FM PACIS Adrian 4
34 LLAVANES Ronald 4
35 RUBIO Lloyd 4
36 MACALA Allan 4
37 CAUNTE Juancho 4
PEREZ Mirham 4
39 ARMENDI Alfredo Jr 4
40 ALFONSO Jeremiah 4
41 VILLATE Raul 4
42 BERSAMINA Paulo 4
43 BALTAZAR Melwyn Kenneth 4
44 ERESTAIN Elmer 4
45 ELORTA David 3.5
DIVINAGRACIA Alvin 3.5
47 AGAGON Eduardo 3.5
48 ALIDANI Leonardo 3.5
49 PANGILINAN Rolando 3.5
50 SALUTAN Melvin 3
51 SAGARIO Quirino 3
52 CACHO Robert 3
53 ALVIZ Jaime 3
54 BARCELONA Perlito Jr. 3
55 TUMLOS Lex 3
56 GUTIERREZ Jun 3
57 TOMAS Jazer Joseph 3
58 REBOLDELA Del 3
59 LOPEZ Pepe 3
60 CARINO Raul 2.5
61 PATES Rodolfo 2.5
62 OBOGNE Joel 2.5
63 RIVERA Joselito 2
64 TIU Sean Mervick 2
65 DE PAZ Deorico Jr. 2
66 LOPEZ Eva 2
67 CUNTAPAY Cris 1.5
GUTIERREZ Dennis III 1.5
69 AGBUNAG Ryan 1
70 OPANO Virgilio 1
71 CRUZ Michael 0.5
72 IM BANCOD Ronald 0
73 CAPUYON Marcelino 0