Philippine chess team off to a good start in 44th Chennai, India Chess Olympiad
By Marlon Bernardino
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 30 Jul 2022
MANILA---THE Philippine men's and women's chess teams scored similar victories at the start of 44th World Chess Olympiad Friday at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai, India.
The men’s team easily posted a shutout victory over their Oman counterparts while the women's team blasted Guam.
Grandmasters Mark Paragua, John Paul Gomez and Darwin Laylo and International Master Paulo Bersamina delivered the wins in the men’s side while WIM Jan Jodilyn Fronda, Woman FIDE Master Shania Mendoza, WIM Marie Antoinette San Diego and WIM Kylen Joy Mordido provided the triumphs in the women’s.
The pair of impressive wins launched the country’s bid to improve on its finish of 37th place in the men’s and 67th in the women’s in the last over-the-board edition of the biennial event in Batumi, Georgia four years ago.
While the GM Jayson Gonzales-mentored women’s squad had it easy, there were some anxious moments in the GM Eugene Torre-coached men’s side particularly in the game of Paragua, who fought his way back from an inferior position in outlasting an upset-conscious FM Amer Al Maashani.
Paragua’s escape sealed the 52nd-seeded Filipinos’ place in the 92-country logjam at first that included 76 that posted 4-0 shutout wins.
They play sixth pick Azerbiajan, an all-GM team who brought down Algeria, 4-0.
GM Banjo Barcenilla will suit up on this one after an opening day breather in place of Laylo.
The Filipinas, ranked 39th, for their part, shared the lead with 78 others including 69 other nations who had the same score as them.
They battle No. 78 Nicaragua, which smashed Somalia, 4-0.-Marlon Bernardino-
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Marlon Bernardino.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
A New King, A New Challenger: Turki Alalshikh Proposes Crawford-Benavidez While Canelo Alvarez Faces Defeat with Humility
By Dong Secuya, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Highly Questionable Title Eliminator
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Earns Silver Medal at Inaugural World Boxing Championships
Mon, 15 Sep 202521-year-old Filipino wins at Germany rapid chess tournament
By Marlon Bernardino, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev
Mon, 15 Sep 2025Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?”
By Carlos Costa, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Advances to the Finals at the World Boxing Championships Perez Set to Face Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao-Wen Huang for 54-Kilogram World Title
Mon, 15 Sep 2025Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
By Carlos Costa, Sun, 14 Sep 2025A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
Sun, 14 Sep 2025Battle of Undefeated: Callum Walsh Vanquishes Fernando Vargas Jr.
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Undercard Inferno: Mbilli and Martinez Deliver a Super Middleweight War Ending in a Thrilling Draw
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Crawford to defy odds?
By Joaquin Henson, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Clash of Titans: The Final Predictions for Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Weigh-In Results: Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev
Sun, 14 Sep 2025