by Marlon Bernardino
TAGAYTAY CITY---National Master Eric Labog Jr. of the Philippines bested International Master Raahul V S of India Tuesday, November 22 to bounce back into contention in the Asian Juniors and Girls Chess Championships at the Knights Templar hotel in Tagaytay City.

His third win against one draw and a loss gave Labog 3.5 points, a half point behind pacesetter top seed International Master Saha Neelash of India,  International Master Harshavardhan G B of India and International Master Sugar Gan-Erdene of Mongolia who totes 4.0 points each.
Also with 3.5 points are Chatterjee Utsab of India, Dziththauly Ramadhan of Indonesia and Fide Master Daniyal Sapenov of Kazakhstan.
In other results, Harshavardhan G B split the points with Neelash while Gan-Erdene drew with Utsab.

The 19 year old Labog, a freshman student at Immaculada Concepcion College, earlier loss to Neelash in Monday's fourth round.
International Master Daniel Quizon edged countryman Mar Aviel Carredo to score 3.0 points and climb at 8th to 14th places along with International Master Michael Concio Jr. and National Master Christian Mark Daluz of the Philippines.

In the Girls Division, Woman International Master Bach Ngoc Thuy Duong of Vietnam routed Woman International Master Nazerke Nurgali  of  Kazakhstan to remain on top with 4.5 points, half point ahead with top pick Woman International Master Assel Serikbay of  Kazakhstan and Woman Fide Master Mitra Asgharzadeh of Iran, both tallied 4.0 points apiece.

Two players follow tih 3.5 points each, namely Woman International Master Ravi Rakshitta of India and Femil Chelladurai of India.
Thirty two boys from eleven countries are competing the junior division while 20 players are participating in the 9-round Swiss system tournament among the girls. The championship is organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines on behalf of the Asian Chess Federation.-Marlon Bernardino-