TO become a chess grandmaster (GM), you must beat one in consistency.
And the mercurial Daniel Quizon did just that last weekend when he finished tied for first in the super strong 30e Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival in the United Arab Emirates.
There, the 20-year-old Olympiad-bound Filipino International Master caught four GMs, including 10e Sunilduth Lyna Narayana of India, who defeated the former in 51 moves of a slam bang King’s Indian showdown that catapulted him to a six-way tie at No. 1 with seven points.
While Mr. Quizon ultimately finished sixth after tiebreaks were applied, there was an air that the reigning Philippine champion had won gold as he finished with a performance rating equal to the super-GM level: 2749.
Uzbek GM Nodirbek Yakubboev came first, while FIDE’s GM David Paravyan, Uzbek GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov, Indian GM Leon Luke Mendonca and top Iranian champion M. Amin Tabatabaei came second to fifth respectively.
In total, Mr. Quizon faced six GMs, winning against four and losing against two, earning him 33.3 points, taking him from 2457 to 2490.3 just over a week ago, or just about 10 away from reaching the 2500 level and claiming an automatic GM title.
That moment could happen in Budapest, Hungary, where he will join the national team competing in the 45e World Chess Olympiad scheduled from September 10 to 22.
The National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) praised Dasmariñas’ bet for his performance.
“Congratulations to him. NCFP Chairman/President Cong. (Butch) Pichay is very happy with his performance, very impressive,” said NCFP Chief Exexecutive officer and national coach GM Jayson Gonzales. – Joey Villar