Arca rules Vietnam GM tourney

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino teen sensation Christian Gian Karlo Arca hinted at big things to come for Philippine chess after topping a Grandmaster tournament in Quang Ninh in Vietnam over the weekend.

The prodigious 15-year-old FIDE Master finished undefeated with six points in nine rounds on three victories and six fighting draws in claiming the crown in the second of the two-bracket tournament.

It was made more special by Arca coming in as the lowest rated among 10 participants with a 2265 and defying overwhelming odds for the improbable conquest.

The feat rewarded Arca the second of the three norms to become an International Master plus a massive 62.8 FIDE rating points that should propel him straight to the breaching the 2300-plateau.

His wins came at the expense of Vietnamese GM Tran Tuan Minh and IMs Azarya Jodi Setyaki of Indonesia and Lou Yiping of China in the first three rounds and the draws against GMs John Paul Gomez also of the Philippines and Nguyen Anh Dung of Vietnam and IMs Michael Concio, Jr. and Liu Xiangyi of Singapore.

Concio, also a Filipino bet, finished third with five points while Gomez was fifth with 4.5 points.

IM Daniel Quizon saw action in the first bracket but was off form and wound up sixth with 4.5 points.