IVAN Travis Cu and Tyrhone James Tabernilla of the Philippines poste big victories to jump into the lead in their respective divisions after six rounds of the Eastern Asian Youth Chess Championships in Penang, Malaysia yesterday.
Cu, a 15-year-old FIDE Master, turned back Mongolian FM Battulga Tenuunbold to leapfrog to the top alongside Vietnamese Dang Anh Miunh and Malaysian FM Poh Yu Tian, who drew with each other, with five points apiece in the premier Open Under-18 section.
The Xavier standout, who finished runner-up in a strong International Master tournament in Hanoi, Vietnam last May, was tackling Poh in the seventh round of the nine-round meet at press time with hopes of sustaining his title bid.
Interestingly, Cu was delivering the best effort so far among the five Filipinos entered in the division, with Frank Loyd Andes just a point behind with four points to show.