John Miciano shares Dutch chess lead; Janelle Mae Frayna draws

MANILA, Philippines — International Master John Miciano downed Dutch Sven Stange to remain at the helm even as Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna drew with GM Oleg Romanishin of Ukraine and stood half-a-point off the pace after three rounds of the 22nd Hogeschool Zeeland chess tournament in Vlissingen, the Netherlands Sunday night.

The 17-year-old Miciano trounced Dutch Henk Burg and Singaporean Mei-En Emmanuelle in the first two rounds then outplayed Stange to keep in step with 15 others headed by top two seeds GMs Sandro Mareco of Argentina and Eduard Iturrizaga Bonelli of Venezuela with three points.

The Far Eastern U standout was playing with GM Xeng Chongsheng of China at press time.

Frayna, 22, trounced the Netherlands’ Romayn Brandsma and Bart Feltman in the first two rounds but failed to startle Romanishin and settled for a draw. She dropped to the group of 2.5-pointers but hopes to get past another Dutch IM Max Warmerdam in the fourth round.