MAKATI CITY, Philippines –Woman FIDE Master Allaney Jia G. Doroy (elo 1972) settled for a draw with 18th seed Woman International Master Dewi Ardhiani Anastasia Citra (2215) of Indonesia to keep her grip of the the top ten along with six others after the fifth round of the 17th Asian Continental Chess Championships (2nd Manny Pacquiao Cup) Friday at the Tiara Oriental Hotel in Makati.
Doroy, one of the top players of National University (NU) Team Manager Samson Go now has 3.0 points, a good for a tie for tenth to 16th spots.
Doroy was playing 16th seed WIM Tianlu Gu (2231) of China in the sixth round at press time in this tournament backed by Sen. Manny Pacquiao, the Philippine Sports Commission and the National Chess Federation of the Philippines headed by Deputy Speaker Prospero " Butch" Arreza Pichay Jr.
It was Doroy’s fourth straight solid effort after she also toppled Olympiad veteran WIM Catherine Secopito (2145), split the point with WFM Li Yunshan (2196) of China and second seed International Master Gulishkan Nakhbayeva (2371) of Kazakhstan in the second, third and fourth rounds, respectively.
Her lone loss came in the first round against WFM Turmunkh Munkhzul (2255) of Mongolia.
International Master Ricky de Guzman, for his part, yielded to International Master Nodirbek Yakubboev of Uzbekistan, to dropped into a 17-player tie at 25th place with 2.5 points each.
The Cainta, Rizal pride De Guzman, who is best to remember for winning the 1981 Asian Junior Chess Championships in Dhaka, Bangladesh, was battling China's Grandmaster Zhongyi Tan, who bowed to Grandmaster Le Quang Liem of Vietnam, in the fifth round of the men’s division that is staking five slots to the World Cup next year.
In the challenger's section, Vince Angelo Medina continued his winning streak after beating National Master Carlo Magno Rosaupan. It was Medina's 6th straight wins in as many rounds.
New Zealand-based Jun Isaac and youngest Woman Fide Master Antonella Berthe Murillo Racasa toppled their respective rivals. Isaac, a former Manila Police Officer and one of the oldest among the participants at the age of 75 but still "moving on" for the love of the game, blasted Deorico De Paz Jr. while Racasa beat Divine Grace Luna.-Marlon Bernardino-