Philippine men, women chess teams falter in 43rd Chess Olympiad; China Wins Double Gold
By Marlon Bernardino
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 06 Oct 2018
(Open division, 185 team entries)
Gold: China
Silver: The United States
Bronze: Russia
(Women's division, 151 team entries)
Gold: China
Silver: Ukraine
Bronze: Georgia 1
THE Philippine men?s team absorbed a 1-3 loss to Vietnam even as the women?s team fell to a similar 1-3 defeat to Australia at the conclusion of the 43rd Chess Olympiad at the Sports Place in Batumi, Georgia, Friday night.
International Master Jan Emmanuel Garcia (Elo 2439) provided the lone victory?a 66-move triumph over Grandmaster Tuan Minh Tran (2491) of an English Opening on board three?for the Filipinos as Grandmaster Julio Catalino Sadorra (2553), Grandmaster John Paul Gomez (2464) and International Master Haridas Pascua (2435) yielded to Grandmaster Le Quang Liem (2715), Grandmaster Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (2620) and International Master Nguyen Anh Koi (2463)on boards one, two and four, respectively.
With the setback against Asean arch-rival Vietnam sent the Filipinos skidding to 37th place overall with 14 match points surpassing the 58th place overall finish with 12 match points during the 42nd World Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan two years ago.
The Filipinos, whose trip was bankrolled by the Philippine Sports Commission, however, could have made it to the Top 6 at best and 14th at worst with a final round win but ended up absorbing a 1-3 loss to Vietnam.
National Chess Federation of the Philippines director and MVP Olympics PLDT Team Manager Martin "Binky" Gaticales said that the Philippine team failed to better its best-ever seventh-place finish in the 1988 World Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki, Greece. Women's Team, on the other hand making it to the Top 22nd place then.
In women?s play, Woman International Master Marie Antoinette San Diego (2102) and Woman International Master Bernadette Galas (2080) drew on board three and four, respectively against Woman Fide Master Nguyen Thu Giang (2134) and International Master Irina Berezina (2112) but their effort couldn't save the Philippines from suffering a 1-3 loss to Australia.
The Filipinas dropped to 67th place overall with 11 match points - failed to improve their 34th overall with 13 match points performance in Baku, Azerbaijan.
A consolation prize is Shania Mae Mendoza got her Woman International Master norm/results here.
Meanwhile, China, a major power in the field of chess, winning the coveted gold medal and the championship trophy, both in the Open and women's division.
The United States failed to defend its crown after losing to China in a tie break points in a three-way tie for first along with Russia after the final round to win this year's cup.
All games ended in draws between China and the United States in their final round matches while Russia beat France, 2.5-1.5.
The Americans settled for silver while Russia went home with the bronze medal.
China also won the gold medal in the women's class with a superior tie break points over Ukraine.
Ukraine settles for second, while host country Georgia Team 1 at third. (Marlon Bernardino)
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