by Marlon Bernardino
Manila---Grandmaster (GM) Rogelio ''Joey' Antonio Jr. , the 13-time Philippine Open champion reigned supreme in the 3rd Cesar Orbe Memorial Chess 960 Series or Fischer-Random Online Tournament on Wednesday, April 8, and control again the overall lead in the five-leg event organized by National Chess Federation of the Philippines executive director Atty. Cliburn Anthony Orbe in honor of his father.

The Quezon City resident Antonio hurdled Jan Roldan Oriendo of Marikina City in the final round to finish with 8.5 points in 11 games.
 Fide Master (FM) Arden Reyes of Rodriguez, Rizal, Ellan Asuela of Bacolod City, John Michael Silvederio of Iloilo and Fide Master (FM) Alekhine Nouri of Escalante City, Negros Occidental also wound up with the same score but Antonio took the crown with a higher tiebreak score.

In the process, the Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro native Antonio, winner of the inaugural leg of the online series, take the lead back from Fide Master (FM) Sander Severino of Silay City, Negrps Occidental, champion of the second leg, with 10 points.

Severino, a four-gold medalist in the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, has 8.0 points following a second-place effort in the second leg.
Grandmaster (GM) Darwin Laylo of Marikina City and Reyes shared 3rd and 4th places with 3.0 points each.
'I got lucky again',  said the 58-year-old Antonio, the 2017 Acqui Terme, Italy World Seniors Vice Champion.-Marlon Bernardino-