GM Mark Paragua withdraws from the World Open 07 at Valley Forge, Pa.

The Philippines' No. 3 player, GM Mark Paragua withdrew from the 2007 World Open after earning only two points out of a possible five. This setback came not too long after a good showing at the Bradley Open in Connecticut last month ( 2nd place ) albeit the Bradley Open is hardly comparable to the World Open in strength. Gm Paragua started the tournament with a win against IM Jay Bonin, a regular in the tournament circuit, but lost his second round to GM Hikaru Nakamura, who tied for first place in the tournament. Then, GM Paragua lost to a relatively unknown player Faik Alekskerov, rated 2453, in the third round. For the fourth and fifth rounds, he won over FM K. Gulambi and lost to GM Yudasin, a strong GM who is also a club champion at the Marshall Chess Club. With still four rounds to go, GM Paragua threw in the towel, and his fans in the Philippines were left wondering about the wisdom of his decision.