Chess Olympiad Epilogue
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 03 Oct 2010
It?s been 22 years since the Philippines garnered 7th place in the Chess Olympiad. The team that gave us our highest ever finish in Thessaloniki, Greece had Eugene Torre, Rogelio Antonio, Rico Mascarinas and Rogelio Barcenilla.
The present crop of players were far from matching this going into their final round game against Estonia but they offered hope for the future. The past was still here and gave the present generation of a glimpse of his exquisite skill when he was Asia?s best. GM Eugene Torre scored 4.5 points in 7 games including squeezing excellent endgame wins. In his win against Stephen Burns-Mannion of Scotland, Torre used a classical opening, the Giuoco Piano. A vintage opening for a vintage master. He finished the Olympiad with 4.5 points ; 3W-3D-1L in 7 games.
The 58-year-old Torre, who became Asia?s first GM in the 1974 Nice Olympiad, made a record 20th Olympiad appearance in his more than four decade career. Torre was the strongest player in the Philippines through the 1980s and 1990s. In 1982 he earned a spot the World Candidates Chess Championships, the first Asian to do so, where he lost his match to Hungary's Zoltan Ribli.
His rightful heir, GM Wesley So got a lot of draws against lower rated players. Filipino chess enthusiasts were not exactly pleased but two draws against highly rated GM Alexei Shirov (ELO 2749) of Spain and former world champion GM Veselin Topalov (ELO 2803) of Bulgaria reminds us of the Pinoy prodigy?s potential.
So went head to head against two men known for fiery combinations and attacking play. So?s Achilles heel is the endgame; he failed to win big games in the past because of it.
But against Topalov, he stood his ground. It is during events like this where So can test his abilities against an experienced world number two player known for being aggressive and uncompromising.
GM So was the team's only undefeated player with 3 wins and 7 draws (6.5 points in 10 games). He will be 17 soon, and just how good will he be if he gets a full time competent coach?
Antonio's replacement, IM Richard Bitoon performed well with 6 points going into the final round. Unfortunately he lost to Estonia's Aleksandr Volodin in their last round match-up and the Philippines lost 2.5-1.5.
GM's John Paul Gomez ( 5 points ? 3 W-4D-2L - in 9 games) and Darwin Laylo (4 points ? 3W-2D-3L- in 8 games) also pitched in.
The women?s squad composed of WFM Chardine Cheradee Camacho, WFM Catherine Pere?a, WFM Shercila Cua, Rulp Ylem Jose and Jedara Docena showed character after absorbing a shutout loss to Vietnam, they bounced back and beat Bolivia 3-5-0.5. The team members also contributed to their cause enabling them to hold on against higher rated teams. Camacho was in the running for Board 1 honors before she lost in rounds seven and eight. Going into their last round game against Brazil, Camacho had 5.5 in 9 games, Perena 4.5 in 9 games, Jose lead with 6.5 in ten games and Docena had 3.5 in six games. This young team did not finish high but performed better than expected. Their talent should also be nurtured. Who knows how good they will be in the next few years?
Ukraine won the men's side of the event thanks to the incredible performances of GM's Vasily Ivanchuk who won his first six games in a row and Zahar Efimenko who did not suffer a loss and had 8 ? points. And to think Ivanchuk actually thought about quitting chess after losing to So during the 2009 Chess World Cup.
In the distaff side, the Russian women took the gold with one round to spare in a crushing 4-0 defeat of Bulgaria in the 10th round.
Chess remains popular in the Philippines. It is a common sight to see Pinoys playing in local clubs, outside ?sari-sari? stores, at home and even in the city sidewalks. Last year, the government approved inclusion of chess in schools curriculum in primary and secondary schools across the country.
Chess actually has health benefits. Studies published in 2003 showed that reading and playing board games or a musical instrument was associated with a decreased risk of Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. So by playing chess, aside from enjoying the game or doing your share in scouting for talent, you are actually preserving your mental faculties.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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