Mari Joseph Turqueza

When a draw is hardly fought over the board, you'd see the real beauty of the game. But would you believe that a draw is sometimes more than a win?

Let's ask Mari Joseph Turqueza. "Swerte lang.. pero sayang pa din," said MJ when I asked him about his draw against GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam after the second round of the ongoing 1st Campomanes Memorial Cup Open.

Seeded No.68 and with a rating of 2140, Turqueza essayed a tough draw - which he called "sayang," for he felt he had a good chance of winning the game - against the top seed Liem who boasts of a frightening 2681 rating. Whew! Get your calculator and see their rating gap of 541 Elo points!!

Turqueza's draw with Liem cemented this young lad's win in Round 1 over IM Oliver Dimakiling (2418), only bowing to IM Richard Bitoon (2447) in Round 3. But still, MJ is enjoying a 2515 performance rating so far.

I hope that this young - and highly promising - junior player of the Philippines continue his winning ways and nail an IM norm in this tournament.

Good luck, MJ! Fight, fight, fight for the Philippine flag!!

Let's watch his Round 2 game against Liem and see why he called this game "sayang" (yes, he almost won this game):

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RANKINGS after Round 3 (1st Campomanes Memorial Cup Open)