IF THE stars align for Filipino International Master (IM) Daniel Quizon in the last four days, he could achieve what no other Filipino before him has done — become a world junior chess champion.
Digging deep from his bagful of tactical tricks, the 20-year-old former World Cup veteran slew fourth seed Hungarian Grandmaster Gleb Dublin in the seventh round Sunday night to stay half a point off the pace in the open section of the FIDE World Juniors Open Championships in Gujarat, India.
The Olympiad-bound Mr. Quizon unleashed a sacrificial juggernaut, giving up a bishop for two pawns in the opening for an inferior position that, however, came with a wonder of attack possibilities.
He consummated it by giving up the exchange again — a rook for a bishop — in the endgame phase that helped complete a shock 33-move triumph via the super-sharp Sicilian Accelerated Dragon.
It was a result that catapulted the reigning national champion to the eight-player logjam at second with 5.5 points each, or half a point behind solo leader IM Kazybek Nogerbek of Kazakhstan, who grabbed solo No. 1 with a win over Sri Lankan international master L M S T De Silva with six points.
Mr. Quizon was battling Grandmaster (GM) Aditya Samant of India in the eighth round at press time, and if he pulls off another win, he would inch closer to getting the shot at that coveted crown that comes with an automatic GM title for the solo champion. — Joey Villar
