PH Women's Team bounces back, rips Venezuela; Men's Team bows to Croatia in 43rd Batumi Chess Olympiad
By Marlon Bernardino
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 27 Sep 2018
THE Philippines' women's team bounced back from a second round loss but the men's team yielded to Croatia in the third round of the ongoing 43rd Chess Olympiad late Wednesday at the Sports Place in Batumi, Georgia.
The women's team, seeded 43rd in the 151-team division, toppled 55th-ranked Venezuela, 3-1, with Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna (2287) and Woman International Master Bernadette Galas (2080) trounced their respective rivals.
Frayna, the former top player of the star-studded Far Eastern University chess team, played black and scored a win, defeating International Master Sarai Carolina Sanchez Castillo (2137) in 45 moves of a Caro-Kann defense in board 1.
Employing the white pieces, Galas, a former mainstay of the multi-titled UAAP champion De La Salle University chess team, bested Woman Fide Master Marvia Josefina Alvarado Arcila (1956) in 79 moves of an Alekhine defense in board 4.
Woman International Master Catherine Perena-Secopito (2157), women's coach of the University of the Philippines chess team, playing white, split the point with Woman International Master Tairu Manuela Rovira Contreras (2033) in 49 moves of a King's Indian defense in board 2 while Woman Fide Master Shania Mae Mendoza, another FEU bet, handling the black pieces (2113) drew with Woman Fide Master Corals Patino Garcia (2023) in 27 moves of a Slav defense in board 3.
The country's female squad, whose team captain is Grandmaster Jayson Gonzales, bowed to 35th seed Slovenia, 1.5-2.5, in the second round after a 4-0 shutout victory over 117th-ranked Mozambique at the start of the 11-round Swiss System match point format chessfest. The team has 8.5 points so far and will face 29th-ranked Slovakia who bowed to 28th-ranked Iran, 0.5-3.5.
Third-ranked China and 12th-ranked Armenia each tallied 10 points to grab the lead.
China outplayed 22nd-ranked Cuba, 3.5-0.5, while Armenia subdued 27th-ranked Greece, 3.5-0.5.
In the men's side, the 54th-ranked Philippines' men's team suffered a heart-breaking loss to 18th-ranked Croatia, 1-3, in their third round clash.
Grandmaster Julio Catalino Sadorra (ELO 2553) failed to convert a winning position and managed to get half a point while playing white, drawing his match with Grandmaster Ivan Saric (2689) in 35 moves of a Reti Opening in board 1.
Grandmaster John Paul Gomez, on the other hand, halved the point with Grandmaster Marin Bosiocic (2600) in 38 moves of a Gruenfeld defense in board 2.
However, International Master Jan Emmanuel Garcia (2439) dropped his game against Grandmaster Ante Brkic (2565) in 32 moves of an English Opening in board 3 while International Master Haridas Pascua (2435) succumbed to Grandmaster Sasa Martinovic (2567) in 52 moves of a Modern defense in board 4.
The setback following the impressive win over 48th-seeded Slovenia, 2-5.-1.5, in the second round and 4-0 win triumph over 144th-seeded San Marino.
The men's team mentored by team captain Asia's First Grandmaster Eugene Torre has 7.5 points and playing under the guidance of NCFP Chairman/ President Deputy Speaker Prospero "Butch" Arreza Pichay Jr. and Secretary-General Rep. Abraham "Bambol" Ng Tolentino Jr., will next play 55th-seeded Estonia, who brought downed No.102 Lebanon, 3-1.
Meanwhile, Filipino Grandmaster Wesley So (2776) continued his winning streak after beating Dutch Grandmaster Erwin L'Ami (2639) in 52 moves of Ruy Lopez Opening in board 2 to lead the top seed United States to a 3-1 victory over 13th-seeded Netherlands.
Grandmaster Samuel Shankland (2722) earlier beat Grandmaster Jorden Van Foreest (2624) in 47 moves of a Slav defense in board 4.
World Championships challenger Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana (2827) and Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura (2763) claiming draws on Boards 1, and 3, respectively.
The United States, the defending champion in this 185 team division, now has 9.5 points, good for a tie at 16th to 18th places that includes second seed Russia and 15th-seeded Czech Republic.
7th-seeded France smashed 57th-seeded Algeria, 3.5-0.5, to grab the solo leadership board with 11.5 points, half point ahead with solo second place 10th-seeded Israel, who outclassed 44th-seeded Iceland, 3.5-0.5.(Marlon Bernardino).
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