Top seed GM Mikhail Mchedlishvili of Georgia beat GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. to wrest the solo lead in the sixth round of the fifth Prospero Pichay Cup international chess championship at the LWUA Bldg. in Katipunan Ave., Quezon City.

Mchedlishvili, the highest-rated player in the 60-player field with an ELO of 2613, dealt the highly-touted Antonio his first setback in their top board encounter and vaulted into the solo lead with five points on four wins and two draws with still three rounds remaining in this prestigious tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) in cooperation with the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA).

Three Filipino players – GMs Eugene Torre, Darwin Laylo, and Mark Paragua – made up for Antonio’s setback and stayed within striking distance for the top prize of $5,000 with 4.5 points.

Torre, who is hoping to redeem himself from a lackluster showing in the recent President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Cup where he withdrew after back-to-back losses in the sixth and seventh rounds, halved the point with compatriot GM John Paul Gomez.

Laylo, who topped the Asian Zone 3.3 championship held early this year, also split the point with GM Ehsan Ghaemmaghami of Iran.

Paragua trounced GM Neelotpal Das of India to join Torre, Laylo and four foreign players with 4.5 points.

Also with the same score were Ghaemmaghami, GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore, GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam, and GM Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia.