GRANDMASTER (GM) Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr. and Fide Master (FM) Nelson Villanueva of the Philippines bagged the top two places in the MRSM Tun Mustapha Chess Championship 2022 held in Sabah, Malaysia last Sunday, September 18.

Antonio defeated Singaporean International Master (IM) Chan Peng Kong in the ninth and final round to finish with 7.5 points on six victories and three draws in this nine-round Swiss System event.

Villanueva, who drew with Indonesian Kamalsyah Muhammad in the final round, also ended up with 7.5 points but by virtue of a higher tiebreak points, Antonio clinched the championship of this 92-player tournament.

Antonio defeated Yaakub Nov Genevia Pslam of Malaysia in the first round, Ladimal of Malaysia in the second round, Ahmad Md Siraj Munir of Brunei in the third round round, Wising Abdul Sahim Malaysia in the fourth round and FM Yee Soon Wei of Brunei in the fifth round.

He split the point with Villanueva in the sixth round, IM Andyka Pitra of Indonesia in the seventh round and Kamalsyah Muhammad of Indonesia in the eighth round before beating IM Chan in the last round.

Antonio’s next tournament will be the Rapid Chess Championships hosted by Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Officer in Charge Director-General Tereso Panga in partnership with the JC Premiere Marikina Business Center on September 30 at the PEZA main office in Pasay City.