CHESS OLYMPIAD: GRITTY FILIPINOS BOW TO POWERHOUSE ARMENIANS, 1.5 - 2.5
By Marlon Bernardino
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 01 Sep 2012
WORLD NO. 2 ARONIAN PRAISES WESLEY SO
BARBOSA AND PARAGUA PLAYING LIKE SUPER GMs -- PICHAY
Manila, Philippines -- Grandmaster Wesley So (2652) halved the point with World No. 2 GM Levon Aronian (2816) after 51 moves of Ruy Lopez Opening using the advantageous white pieces in their top board encounter but wasn't good enough as the gritty Filipinos incurred their first team loss in the fourth round against the heavyweight Armenians, one of the toughest teams in the in the ongoing 40th FIDE World Chess Olympiad early Saturday morning (Manila Time) at the WOW Convention Center in Istanbul, Turkey.
GM Oliver Barbosa (2554) split the point with GM Sergie Movsesian (2698) after 37 moves of English Opening on Board Two, even GM Mark Paragua (2508) settled for a truce with GM Vladimir Akopian (2687) after 45 moves of Slav defense on Board Three.
GM candidate and International Master (IM) Oliver Dimakiling (2428) bowed to GM Gabriel Sargissian (2693) after 25 moves of Irregular Opening on Board Four.
National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) Chairman/President Prospero "Butch" Pichay Jr. lauded the impressive showing of the Filipinos who give Armenians a good fight.
"We lost against Armenia, a powerhouse in the chess world but today we have shown to the whole world that Philippine Chess is a future world power. No less than World no. 2 Levon Aronian (2816) sang praises on Wesley So in an interview in Istanbul because he salvage a draw against a better positioned Wesley So. "I thought mukhang mananalo pa sana si Wesley," said Pichay, who watched the game live through Internet which lasted seven hours back home in Manila.
"Oliver Barbosa and Mark Paragua are both playing at their best, in fact I think they (Barbosa and Paragua ) are playing like grandmasters with an Elo rating of 2700 that's why Armenia just eked out a hard earned victory against the Philippines in that crucial game," added Pichay.
Meanwhile, Aronian praised So in conversation with Chessdom.com editor-in-chief Goran Urosevic. ?He (Wesley So) is a talented player from a country with great chess culture.?
"Pasensiya na po masama ang laro ko kanina. Babawi na lamang po tau. Maraming salamat sa suporta n'yo po and God bless us to all," said the Davao City native Dimakiling in Ahedres ng Pilipinas facebook group.
Once again, for the 34th time So had preserved his ?No-Loss Record vs GMs with 2700+ rating? this time against a 2800+ player by drawing his game in 51st move.
This was the second time that So had played a 2800+ rated player, the first was against Bulgaria?s GM Veselin Topalov rated 2803 then, FIDE?s 2005 World Chess Champion & 2010 World Chess Championship challenger, where the game also ended in a draw, in the 2010 Chess Olympiad in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia.
The 35th seed Filipinos, who earlier beat the 112th seed Libyans, 4-0, the 26th seed Moldovans, 2.5-1.5, the 40th seed Kazakhs, 4-0, before losing to the Armenians, 1.5-2.5, was stuck at six points and was dropped into a tie for 16th to 36th placers along with their fifth round opponent No. 51 Iceland, who edged No. 72 Turkey, 2.5-1.5.
Asia?s first GM Eugene Torre, who is making a record 21st appearance in the Olympiad, will be playing according to Pichay and replacing Dimakiling.
The long-time Filipino champion is still mourning the death of his mother, whose interment is scheduled Saturday, Sept. 1 (Manila time).
The Olympiad is using a new scoring system that gives two points to a match win, a point to a draw and none to a loss and did away with the old practice of accumulating all the won and drawn games from all four boards.
In other notable men?s results, Russia downed China, 3-1, Ukraine nipped Poland, 3-1, and Hungary routed Slovakia, 3-1. USA and India battled to a 2-2 draw as well Azerbaijan opposite Germany, and France versus England.
Armenia, Russia, Ukraine and Hungary remained on top with eight points.
The Phl?s women?s team, on the other hand, toppled Mexicans, 3-1, to jump to a share of 13th to 31st placers with 18 others at six points.
WIM Catherine Perena, WNM Janelle Mae Frayna and WNM Jan Jodilyn Fronda won their respective matches to negate WFM Rulp Ylem Jose's loss on board two.
The Filipinas, seeded 57th, will meet the 61st-seeded South Africans, who brought downed FYROM, 2.5-1.5, in the fifth round.
Russia waylaid Czech Republic, 3-1, and France subdued Argentina, 3.5-0.5, in the top women?s encounter to share the lead with eight points.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Marlon Bernardino.
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