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BASTA PINOY! SPORTS REVIEW

Villamor nears GM norm

MANILA, July 8  -- Intrnational Master Bong
Villamayor dug deep into his bag of moves to outwit fellow IM Rico Mascarinas and move just half-a-point away from a grandmaster norm in the penultimate round of the Equitable Visa Card Invitational
Chess Classic at the SSS multi-purpose center in Quezon City.

Sacrificing his rook for Mascarinas bishop in a close
middle-game of an English Opening-Hedgehog variation was the key move for the 1986 World Junior Blitz champion as he was able to isolate his opponent's queenside pawn and force him to resign after 44 moves.

Before that happened, Villamayor passed a pawn and get another connected passed pawn before dominating the key squares using his knight.

"It was a solid knight post-up. His pieces weer isolated to i was able to control the attack," said Villamayor.

With the victory, Villamayor racked up an aggregate of 5.5 points, half-a-point away from joining the country's short but elite list of GMs composed of Eugene Torre, Joey Antonio and the late Rosendo Balinas.

But the road to glory will be tough for Villamayor as he will be facing his idol Torre, Asia's first GM and the country's top woodpusher.

Actually, all Villamayor need is a draw in his match against Torre to become a full-fledged GM. The 33-year-old mentor of the Philippine Christian University chess team hiked his ELO rating to 2495 following successful stints in the Vungtau GM circuit, Asian Zonal in Vietnam and the Japfa Bali Open in Indonesia.

Torre dropped to solo fifth place with four points following a draw with Chinese Woman GM Wang Lei afetr 43 moves of a Nimzo Indian -- his eighth straight draw in this 10-player, round-robin meet considered as a Category 10 tournament organized by the Philippine Chess Society.

With all of his games ending up in ties, Torre said he might finish his stint with a draw.  But nonetheless, Villamayor said he is prepared for the greatest moment of his career, if not of his life.

"I want to show Eugene (Torre) that I can be at par with him," said Villamayor. "I have to prove that I'm equal to the task that I am about to face today."

The first and only meeting between Torre and Villamayor at the 1991 Far East Bank meet ended in a draw. Tournament leader Vietnamese GM Dao Thien Hai drew his match against Antonio to remain unbeaten and hike his record to six points. Antonio dropped to solo third, just half-a-point behind
Villamayor with five points. (SNS)

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