FILIPINO teenage chess sensation Ivan Travis Cu is slowly but surely realizing his Grandmaster (GM) potential.
The 16-year-old FIDE Master (FM) gave a glimpse of it by dominating the blitz section in the premier Under-18 event of the 9th Eastern Youth Championships in Zhuhai, Guangdong, China Monday.
The 11th-grader from Xavier finished unbeaten with 8.5 points out of the possible nine on eight victories, including a final-round triumph over Mongolian Chuluuntuul Erkhembayar, and a draw.
It was an impressive effort for a player whose biggest feat so far came in last year’s International Master Closed tilt in Hanoi, Vietnam where he came a last-round win short of the title and eventually ended up second.
It also came a day after he fell short of a podium finish and wound up fourth in the standard event that was topped by countryman FM Christian Gian Karlo Arca.
On this one, Mr. Arca finished tied for No. 2 with Chinese Chen Kailin with seven points each but lost on tiebreaks and settled for the bronze. — Joey Villar
