Marie Antoinette San Diego moved closer to a coveted Woman Grandmaster norm after taking the solo lead in the women’s division of the 7th ASEAN+ Individual Chess Championships with a stunning victory over top seed WIM Bordoloi Pratitee of India in Misamis Occidental on Thursday.
The 27-year-old Dasmariñas native delivered a commanding kingside attack to capture a rook and force a resignation after 41 moves of a Queen’s Pawn game, handing the erstwhile tournament leader her first setback in the nine-round competition.
San Diego’s victory lifted her to 4.5 points, giving her sole possession of first place in the 34-player field and putting her in a favorable position to secure a direct Woman Grandmaster norm.
With four rounds remaining, three players are closest to the Filipino standout, sharing second place with four points each: Pratitee, fellow Indian WFM Shree Reddy Keerti, and Indonesian WIM Shafira Devi Herfesa.
Keerti settled for a draw against Filipina WFM Shania Mae Mendoza after 30 moves of a Queen’s Pawn game, while Herfesa narrowly escaped with a victory over local bet WIM Ruelle Canino in a lengthy 71-move encounter featuring the Sicilian Defense.
Mendoza joined a six-player group tied for fifth place with 3.5 points. The Filipina was accompanied by compatriots Mhage Sebastian and Kate Nicole Ordizo, who picked up victories against fellow locals Franchesca Largo and Samantha Umayan, respectively.
San Diego will look to sustain her impressive run when she faces Herfesa in the sixth round on Saturday, following Friday’s scheduled rest day.
Meanwhile, in the open division, Filipino FM Alekhine Nouri remained the country’s highest-ranked player after splitting the point with Indian IM Bala Chandra Prasad Dhulipalla in 49 moves of a Caro-Kann Defense.
Nouri now has 3.5 points, just half a point behind co-leaders IM Erdene Baasansuren of Mongolia and GM Nguyen Duc Hoa of Vietnam.
The tournament is backed by host Gov. Henry Oaminal Sr., the Philippine Sports Commission, and WR Chess.
