by Marlon Bernardino

Filipino  Grandmaster (GM) Mark Paragua settled a truce with Serbian Grandmaster Master (GM) Milos Perunovic in the ninth and final round to emerge as the overall champion of the Marshall Spring 2020 Grandmaster Norm Round Robin chess tournament at the Marshall Chess Club in Manhattan, New York last March 2, 2020.

The former Filipino whiz kid from Marilao, Bulacan captured the title with 7 points in nine outings on account of 6 wins, two draws and one loss.
The 1998 World Rapid Under-14 champion bested International Master Alexander Kalikshteyn in the first round, Qibiao Wang in the third round, International Master Hans Nieman in the fifth round, Fide Master Joshua Colas in the sixth round and International Master Kevin Wang of the United States in the seventh round and International Master Kassa Korley of Denmark in the eight round and penultimate round.

He split the point with Uzbek Grandmaster Djurabek Khamrakulov in the second round and GM Perunovic in the final round. His only loss at the hands of American chess prodigy International Master Christopher Woonjin Jo in the fourth round.-Marlon Bernardino-