Standings after seven rounds:

5.5 points  -- Y. Yu (China)
5 --  X. Bu (China), P. Harikrishna (India), K. Sasikiran (India), E.Moradiabadi (Iran)
4.5 -- W. So (Philippines), M. Paragua (Philippines),   R. Jumabayev (Kazakhstan),  Y. Wan (China),  S. Ganguly (India),  W. Zhou (China),  J. Zhao (China),   N.N. Truong Son (Vietnam)
4  -- O. Barbosa (Philippines), S. Liu (China) ,    P. Negi (India), B. Adhiban (India),  S. Megaranto (Indonesia),  S. Sethuraman  (India), R. Kasimdzhanov  (Uzbekistan)

MASHHAD, Iran -- GM Wesley So pulled off back-to-back victories over  IM Sundar Shyam of India and compatriot GM  John Paul Gomez  to stay in contention in the 10th Asian Continental Individual chess championships  at  the Hotel Pardisan here Sunday.

So, who is hoping  to clinch one of four berths to the 2011 World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia later this year,  raised his score  to  4.5  points  on  three  wins, three draws and only one loss in this  prestigious,  nine-round tournament  being  held  in holy  Iranian city near the  borders of Afghanistan and  Kazakhstan.

Overall, the 17-year-old Filipino champion from Bacoor, Cavite is a full  point  behind solo leader  Yu Yangyi of China and  only half a point  behind GMs  Bu Xiangzhi of China, Pentala Harikrishna and Krishna Sasikiran of India and  Elshan Moridiabadi of  Iran  with still two rounds left.

GM  Mark Paragua also swept his matches against IMs Gurathi Santosh Vidit of  India and  Kaiqi Yang of China to improve to 4.5 points and  join So and  six other players in a tie for  sixth to 13th places.

IM Oliver Barbosa outwitted IM  Javad Alavi of Iran and drew with  top  seed  GM Rustan Kasimdzhanov  of  Uzbekistan to  lead a big group of players with four points.

The two other Filipino  players -- GM Darwin Laylo and Gomez  -- remained  in  the bottom of the standings.

Laylo lost to Adhiban  in the sixth round  but drew with  IM Lou Yiping of China in the seventh, while  Gomez  whipped FM Amirreza Pourramezanali of Iran and lost to So   to remain with only 3.5 points.

The  top four finishers in the annual tournament will earn the right to represent the region  in the 2011 World  Cup scheduled in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia later this year.

China and India have the most number  of entries with 12 players each, while host Iran has 10.

The Philippines has  five players, followed by  Vietnam with  three, Kazakhstan with two and  Chinese-Taipei, Indonesia, Iraq, Syria, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan   with one each.

The   National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), headed by  Butch  Pichay, and the  Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), thru Chairman Richie Garcia, are  supporting the Filipinos’ campaign.   Ed Andaya