Guam International Open Part Two

Just past the midway point of the tournament & as expected, the tournament has turned into a race for third, with Grandmasters Laylo & Torre beating up any challengers, while their own game was a hard fought draw, where neither players held any big advantage during the game before finally ending in an opposite coloured bishop endgame.
The complicating factor in the race for third is that apart from having to beat the other challengers, there is always the need for two players to face the grandmasters each round! At present (after round 6) there is a four-way tie for third place, with locals Peter Mafnas, Efren Manuel, Jed Caluag & Palau's Tito Cabunagan all on 4/6. Of these players, only Efren has faced both GMs, although Jed plays his second GM this morning, but there are also eight other players within a point of third place, so the race for third is still very much alive!
I also played a few rounds, and only managed 1/2 after I blundered horribly against Danilo Briones, however Danilo still had to play well enough to finish off the position, so well done to him!
Full results of the tournament, as well as all games, are available on Chess Results.
Away from the chess, there was a BBQ Street Party on Saturday, which saw plenty of locals & tourists gathered in Tumon, while today is the Liberation Day public holiday, so I expect fireworks & other festivities this evening.

Harmon McDonalds, whose second floor is the usual home of chess on Guam on Sundays.

Crowds pack the streets for the BBQ Street Party & line up for some of the barbequed food on offer!

Part of the festivities involved a cooking competition, though I'm not sure of the exact details.

If there was any doubt about where the party was happening ...

Local dancers close out festivities for the evening near the stage.

The trophy for the locals, with winners of various competitions around the island getting a name plate on the trophy, which is a carved from a piece of wood!

Start of round 3, with board 1 game between local Victor Wen & GM Darwin Laylo

Start of round 4, with board 1 game between GM Darwin Laylo & local CM Jonathan Molod

The other side of the playing hall in round 4, with the clash of juniors, Yanis Warnier from France against local Gefferson Batula, nearest the camera.

A crowd gathers for the conclusion of the Laylo-Molod game, while closer to camera Olga Szekely plays Efren Manuel & Jed Caluag plays GM Eugene Torre.

Arbiter's desk, with sponsor banners - my presence at the tournament was largely due to financial support from the Kasparov Chess Foundation Asia-Pacific!

Chess with a view ... play underway in round 7, with beautiful cliffs & ocean just out the window!

To finish, two interesting games from the tournament:
Round 4 top board clash between GM Darwin Laylo & CM Jonathan Molod


Round 5, an almost brilliancy from the clash between FM Ignatius Leong & Tito Cabunagan