The 6th Prospero A. Pichay Cup ended yesterday and GM Anton Filippov took the champion's title pocketing a cool USD 6,000 first prize. Filippov was in the lead throughout and had a slim half point lead going into the final round. He drew with Iranian GM Ghaem Maghami Ehsan and this was enough to secure the 1st placing as all the top boards drew as well.
Malaysia had two players , Khanty Mansiysk bound Peter Long and a regular on the local tournament circuit, Cheah Cheok Fun.
Cheok Fun seems to be taking chess more seriously now. I think he is undergoing some training with resident GM Ziaur Rahman and now taking the big step in competing in a strong foreign tournament. I respect this type of gung-ho and I was hoping he could make a respectable showing here. But it was not to be, his final tally was three points from the nine rounds (with one coming from a bye). I say, keep going at it, Cheok Fun. There will be a break-through at some point with sufficient determination.
Peter Long garnered three and a half points giving a walk-over in round eight and was not even paired for the final round. Perhaps he fell ill or just felt totally out-classed and gave up. Either way it is not good omen for our team in the coming Olympiad which is just about a month away.
All the players will have a rest till Sunday 29th August when the Florencio Campomanes Memorial starts. This is the premier event with a whopping USD70,000 for the Open tournament with USD10,000 going to the winner.
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