The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
World Cup veteran IM Michael Concio and FM Christian Gian Karlo Arca swept their first two assignment to gain a share of the lead in the 2024 Asian Juniors and Girls Chess Championships at the Knights Templar Hotel here Monday.
Concio, the country’s highest-ranked junior player with an ELO of 2368, swept No. 24 seed Yu Chen Yu of Taipei in the first round and No. 15 AFM Sureka Akshat of India in the second round while Arca bested compatriot Almwayne Magpusao and No. 3 IM S. Ashwath of India to join defending champion and top seed GM Aleksey Grebnev of Russia and five other players in a seven-way tie for lead with two straight wins.
Grebnev, who is hoping to defend the title he won in last year’s edition in Jamshedpur, India, crushed No. 17 seed Phil Martin Casiguran of the Philippines and No. 10 Cristiano Manish of India to take the headstart in the prestigious, nine-round tournament organized by the Asian Chess Federation (ACF) in cooperation with the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Tagaytay City government.
Also in the lead pack are No. 2 IM Krishna Rohith of India, who trounced Dinujaya Kodithuwakku of Sri Lanka and No. 9 FM Arjun Adireddy of India; No. 4 IM Artem Uskov of Russia, who humbled Toma Matsunaga of Japan and No. 11 Imangali Akhilbay of Kazakhstan; No. 6 CM Yash Bradia of India, who downed Khalid Shafwan Azzamy of Indonesia and No. 13 AFM Andrei Ainsley Dolorosa; and No. 7 IM Munkhdalai Amilal of Mongolia, who overwhelmed No. 23 John Curt Valencia of the Philippines and No. 16 DavinSean Romualdez of the Philippines.
With perfect scores of two points in the girls division are second seed WIM Anna Shukhman of Russia, No. 6 Halder Sneha of India, No. 8 WFM V. Rindhiya of India and No. 10 Luong Hoang Tu Lin of Vietnam.
Shukhman, who dominated the girls rapid chess competition held last Sunday, trounced ACM Afif Mardhiah Mohd of Malaysia and No. 7 WFM Gupta Shubhi of India.
Sneha humbled Chen Pin-I of Taipei and Dhanasree Khairmode of India, Rindhiya outclassed Alexis Rian Justo of Guam and top seed WIM G. Tejaswini of India and Luong toppled Lu Jie Xin of Taipei and No 5 Kristina Popandopolu of Kazakhstan.
The highest-placed Filipina players after two rounds are No. 16 Apple Rubin and No. 20 Elle Castronuevo, who bounced back from first-round setbacks with a pair of hard-fought victories.
Rubin, a protege of Atty. Jeah Gacang of PCAP member Toledo Trojans, rebounded from a loss to Popandopolu with a victory over Alexis Rian Justo of Guam.
Castronuevo , on the other hand, whipped Carmina Jasmine Ramas of Guam to make up for her setback to No. 9 WFM Mukherjee Bristy of India in the opening round.
Not as lucky in the second round was World Age Group Chess Championship-bound Jemaicah Yap Mendoza, who fell to No. 13 ACM Afif Mardiah Mohd of Malaysia.
Mendoza provided the biggest surprise on opening round when she held third seed WIM Zeinep Sultanbek of Kazakhstan to a fighting draw.
The 12-year-old Mendoza, who earned her WFM title during the Eastern Asia Youth Championship in Bangkok, Thailand in November 2022, is using the tournament as part of her preparations for the World Age Group Championship in San Carlos, Brazil on Oct.28-Nov. 10.