Frayna, Torre bounce back in Spain tourney

MANILA, Philippines — Woman GM Janelle Mae Frayna rebounded from a third round setback by holding No. 6 Venkataraman Karthik of India to a 31-move draw of an English duel even as GM Eugene Torre charged back into contention in the fourth round of the 41st Open International Barbera del Valles 2018 Chess Championship in Barbera de Valles, Spain Saturday night.

Frayna, 22, actually gained an outside passed pawn at endgame but Karthik found a way to neutralize the Filipina’s attack and force a draw that kept them in a group at 20th place with 2.5 points, including GM Jayson Gonzales, who beat Adria Campos.

Torre, meanwhile, trampled India’s Anand Saurabh and moved to joint fifth with three points on two victories and two draws.

Though she remained outside of the top 10, Frayna stayed in the hunt for a GM norm. She next faces another GM in No. 8 Miguel Muñoz of Spain.

Frayna, toting 2315 rating, has currently earned 17.4 rating points that included a shock win over 10th pick Marius Manolache of Romania.