TAGAYTAY City — IM Efren Bagamasbad continued his dominance in the 65-above category, even as top seed GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. battled back to forge a three-way tie for the top spot in the 50-above class in the 12th Asian Seniors Chess Championships at the Knights Templar Hotel here Wednesday

Bagamasbad, who is using the tournament as part of his preparations for the 2023 World Seniors Chess championships in Terrasini, Italy from October 24 to November 6, solidified his position at the top by defeating Mario Mangubat.

It was Bagamasbad’s fifth straight wins in the nine-round competition hosted by the Tagaytay City government, under the leadership of Mayor Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, and sanctioned by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), led by Chairman/President Prospero “Butch” Pichay.

Also in the 65-above category, IM Aitkazy Baimurzin of Kazakhstan trounced FM Adrian Pacis to climb into solo second place with four points

Quirino Sagario defeated FM Antonio Molina while Kian Hwa Lim of Malaysia to join Mangubat and Pacis with three points apiece

In the 50 and above category, Antonio outperformed Galymzhan Ibrayev of Kazakhstan to gain a share of the lead with

IM Chito Garma and FM Rudin Hamdani of Indonesia with four points out of a possible five.

Garma, who topped the same tournament also held in Tagaytay in 2018, played to a draw with fellow IM Angelo Young.

Hamdani overcame IM Enrique Paciencia of Singapore.

In other results, IM Barlo Nadera outmatched CM Helen Milligan of New Zealand, and FM Ismail Ahmad of Malaysia drew against Edgardo Garma, while Ricky Navalta secured a victory against Joseph Ebenezer of India.

The total cash prize pool amounts to $3,000, with the champion receiving the largest portion, which is US$500.

The runner-up and third-place finisher will earn $400 and $300, respectively.

All top three finishers will also be awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals.

The tournament is under the guidance of tournament director Mike Lapitan, with Casto “Toti” Abundo serving as the supervising arbiter.

Standings after five rounds:
50-above
4 — R. Antonio, R. Hamdani (Indonesia), C. Garma
3.5 points–B. Nadera
3 — G. Ibrayev (Kazakhstan), R. Navalta, A. Young
2.5 –H. Milligan (New Zealand), E. Paciencia (Singapore), E. Garma, I. Bulanova (Kazakhstan), A. Ismail (Malaysia)
2–Y. Gaichenya (Kazakhstan)
65-above
5 –E. Bagamasbad
4–A. Baimurzin (Kazakhstan)
3 –A. Pacis, M.Mangubat, K. H. Lim (Malaysia), Q. Sagario
2.5–A. Molina, J. Dormitorio, R. Schain (Cambodia), T. Weller (Austria)
2–M. Patterson (Australia), P. Srivatanakul (Thailand), T. Demezhanov (Kazakhstan), Biket Zharokov (Kazakhstan)