BITOON DRAWS WITH GM WONG

BusinessWorld Online
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
MANILA, PHILIPPINES

FILIPINO INTERNATIONAL Master Richard Bitoon (2490) halved the point
with Singaporean GM Wong Meng Kong (2403) to fortify his GM title
bid in the fifth round of the 4th President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Cup International Chess Championship Sunday night at the Duty Free
Fiestamall in Parañaque City.

The Medellin, Cebu native compiled 4.0 points on three wins and
two draws to share 2nd to 4th place with Vietnamese GM Nguyen Ngoc
Truong Son and Armenian GM Tigran Kotanjian, winners over GMs Annuar
Ismagambetov and Pyotr Kostenko, both from Kazakhstan, respectively.

Bitoon, protégé of NM Matias "Bombi" Aznar, will face Kotanjian
using the black pieces in sixth round late Monday. Bitoon needs his
last GM norm here to complete his GM title status.

Wong, on the other hand remained on top with 4.5 points, including
his default win against GM-elect Ronald Dableo in the fourth round.

It can be recalled that six players lost their fourth-round matches
via defaults. The players — Dableo, IM Barlo Nadera, NMs Deniel
Causo and Ali Branzuela, Albert Rivera, and Conrado Diaz — lodged
an appeal with the organizers but their appeal was turned down in the
nine-round Swiss-system event which offers $6,000 to the champion in
the $40,000 total pot prize event.

Nadera, a resident of Malabon City suffered his second straight lost
by default after failing to show up in the fifth round against his
match to Davao City NM Allan Macala.