Bersamina grabs board 3 gold; Barcenilla, Fronda bag bronzes

International Master Paulo Bersamina bagged the board 3 gold as the Philippines finished 2nd in the Open division after the Asian Nations Chess Cup elimination round.

The 22-year-old Bersamina, a two-time Chess Olympian deprived of a third stint with the scrapping of the 2020 Moscow Olympiad due to the COVID-19 pandemic, scored 7 points in 9 games to edge GM M. Amin Tabatabaei of top qualifier Iran for the honor.

Arizona-based Grandmaster Rogelio Barcenilla clinched the bronze on board 2 to match the effort of Woman IM Jan Jodilyn Fronda, who lifted the Filipinas to 2nd place behind the powerhouse Indians in the distaff side.

Barcenilla, a former Asian junior champion, scored 6 points in 8 games, while Fronda posted 5.5 points, also in 8 games.

With GM Mark Paragua manning board 1, GM John Paul Gomez handling board 4, and IM Haridas Pascua playing board 5, the Philippines blanked Palestine and Syria (4-0), beat Thailand (3-1), downed Mongolia (2.5-1.5), and shocked top seed India, co-champion with Russia in the inaugural Online Chess Olympiad, and No. 2 Kazakhstan in the crucial seventh and eighth rounds.

The Philippines sealed the No. 2  spot behind India with a 3-1 trouncing of Kyrgyzstan in the ninth and final round.

The fourth-seeded Filipinos, captained by GM Eugene Torre, bowed to the Iranians, 1.5-2.5, in the fourth round and the Australians, 1-3, in the sixth round.

Completing the women’s team captained by GM Jayson Gonzales, are WGM Janelle Mae Fryana on board 1, Woman Fide Master Shania Mae Mendoza on board 3, WIM Bernadette Galas on board 4, and WIM Kylen Joy Mordido on board 5.

The Filipinas, seeded only 7th, swamped their counterparts from the United Arab Emirates and Iraq (4-0), yielded to the Indonesians, 1.5-2.5, rebounded against the Kyrgyzstan bets (3.5-0.5), dumped the Lebanese, 4-0, bowed to the Indians, 1-3, drew the Mongolians, 2-2, and nipped the Kazakhs, 2.5-1.5, to also enter the quarterfinals.

The knockout quarterfinals will be held on Friday with the Filipinas pitted against the Sri Lankans and the Filipinos having a rematch with the Kazakhs. – Rappler.com