Grandmaster Jayson Gonzales drew with GM Kevel Oliva Castañeda in the final round to become the best Filipino finisher in the XX Obert Internacional Sant Marti 2018 chess championship in Barcelona, Spain over the weekend.
Gonzales split the point with the eighth-seeded Cuban after 66 moves of a Dutch defense to finish the nine-round tournament at 15th place with 6 points on five wins, two draws and two losses.
He was actually tied for 9th to 20th places but settled for a lower ranking after the tiebreak.
Gonzales, 49, actually had a chance to beat Castañeda with a positional advantage but couldn’t convert a winning position.
Top seed GM Gadir Guseinov clinched the title with 7.5 points after halving the point with International Master Luis Lazaro Aguero Jimenez also of Cuba in the ninth round to finish with six wins and three draws.
IM John Marvin Miciano and Woman Grandmaster Janelle Frayna also drew Torbjorn Glimbrant of Sweden and IM Alexey Fernandez Cardoso of Cuba with to settle at 22nd and 29th place with 5.5 points.
(Kristel Satumbaga)
