Sadorra draws with Kazakh GM

MANILA, Philippines -  GM Julio Sadorra battled 11th seed GM Rinat Jumabayev of Kazakhstan to a marathon 74-move draw and stayed in contention after five rounds of the Asian Continental Chess Championships in Chengdu, China Tuesday night.

But Sadorra’s 3.5-point total dropped him from joint second to a share of fourth, a full point behind solo leader GM Wang Hao of China, who hiked his output to 4.5 points.

Indian GM Chithambaram Aravindh and Chinese GM Bai Jinshi are tied at No. 2 with four points.

At press time, Sadorra, the country’s top board player in the last two Olympiads, was playing Indian GM Surya Ganguly.

Sadorra is seeking a Top Five finish for a spot in the World Chess Cup set Sept. 1-25 in Batumi/Tbilisi, Georgia.

Another Filipino, GM John Paul Gomez, beat GM Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy of Vietnam to bounce back with three points.

Gomez was playing Indian GM Chanda Sandipan at presstime.

But GM Jayson Gonzales fell to Chinese FIDE Master Li Di and remained with two points in a tie with IM Paulo Bersamina, who drew with Mongolian IM Sumiya Bilguun.

In women’s action, WFM Shania Mae Mendoza’s two-win streak came to a halt as she bowed to WGM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova and stayed with 2.5 points.

WGM Janelle Mae Frayna, on the other hand, settled for a fourth straight draw for two points.