PH women's team edges Slovakia; men's team bows to Estonia in 43rd Batumi Chess Olympiad
By Marlon Bernardino
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 28 Sep 2018
The 43rd seed Philippine women's chess team scored a 2.5-1.5 victory over 29th seed Slovakia, however the 54th seed men's team succumbed to 55th seed Estonia, 1.5-2.5 in the fourth round of the ongoing 43rd Chess Olympiad late Thursday at the Sports Place in Batumi, Georgia.
Woman Fide Master Shania Mae Mendoza (Elo 2113) and Woman International Master Marie Antoinette San Diego (2102) gave the Philippines the important wins, playing under the guidance of NCFP Chairman/ President Deputy Speaker Prospero "Butch" Arreza Pichay Jr. and Secretary-General Rep. Abraham "Bambol" Ng Tolentino Jr.
Mendoza, the pride of Far Eastern University chess team, defeated Woman Grandmaster Zuzana Cibickova (2268) after 42 moves of Giuco Piano Opening on board three.
San Diego, the pride of Dasmarinas City mayor Elpidio "Pidi" Barzaga Jr., subdued Woman Fide Master Dominika Ferkova (2060) after 51 moves of Nimzo-Indian defense on board four.
Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna (2287) split the point with International Master Eva Repkova (2288) after 41 moves of Catalan Opening on board one while Woman International Master Catherine Perena-Secopito (2157) yielded to International Master Zuzana Stockova (2290) after 28 moves of Petroff defense on board two.
The country's female squad, whose team captain is Grandmaster Jayson Gonzales has tallied 11 points, and climbed at 39th place.
The women's team will next face 25th seed England which conquered No. 94 seed El Salvador, 4-0.
In the men's division, Grandmaster Julio Catalino Sadorra (2553), Grandmaster John Paul Gomez (2464) and International Master Haridas Pascua (2435) claimed draws on boards 1, 2 and 4, respectively against Grandmaster Kaido Kulaots (2542), Grandmaster Ottomar Ladva (2500) and Fide Master Ilja Sirosh (2380).
Grandmaster Aleksandr Volodin (2457), meantime trounced International Master Jan Emmanuel Garcia (2439) after 82 moves of King's indian defense on board three allowing his team Estonia to edge the Philippine team in the match point format.
The men's team squad, whose team captain is Asia's First Grandmaster Eugene Torre, has 9 points, and dropped to 69th place and will play 102 seed Lebanon in the next round, who beat 128 seed Namibia, 2.5-1.5.
Filipino Grandmaster Wesley So (2776) halved the point with Grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna (2743) after 32 moves of Ruy Lopez Opening to help the top seed United States into a 2.5-1.5 victory over fifth seed India.
Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura (2763) and Grandmaster Samuel Shankland (2722) halving the point with Grandmaster Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (2711) and Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran (2672) on board three and four, in order.
World Championships challenger Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana (2827) delivered the crucial point for the United States after beating former World Champion Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand (2771) after 26 moves of Catalan Opening on board one.
The United States, the defending champion in this 185 team division, now has 12 points, to climb at sixth place.
Fourth seed Azerbaijan defeated 9th seed England, 3.5-0.5, to score 13.5 game points.
Azerbaijan, Poland, China, France, Israel, United States, Armenia, Czech Republic, and Ukraine tallied identical eight match points on four wins in four outings. (Marlon Bernardino)
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