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MANILA, Philippines – Filipino FIDE Master Sander Severino wound up tied with Grandmaster Martin Tazbir of Poland before settling at 2nd place in the First FIDE Online Cup for People with Disabilities on Friday, May 22.
After notching 4 straight wins, Severino drew with top-seeded Tazbir in the fifth and last round as they both tallied 4.5 points to top the 31-player field from Asia, the Americas, Africa and Europe.
Handling black, Severino offered a draw after 9 moves of their English encounter which Tazbir accepted after making his 10th.
They ended up even after the first tiebreak, but Tazbir, who also won his first 4 games, eventually got the edge when the second tiebreak was applied, 10.5-10.
“It’s okay, anyway he (Tazbir) is a Grandmaster,” said Severino, a four-gold medalist in the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The 34-year-old pride of Silay City, Negros Occidental beat Woman Candidate Master Mucha Annegret of Germany, Woman International Master Natasha Morales Santos of Puerto Rico, FM Vit Valenta of the Czech Republic and IM Yuri Meshkov of Russia.
Severino said his strong showing will inspire him to do well in the IPCA World Championship and the first World Chess Olympiad for the Differently Abled, originally slated this year but moved to next year due to the worldwide coronavirus scourge.
According to James Infiesto, deputy executive director for Mindanao of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines also serving as coach of the national Paralympic chess team, said Severino was well-prepared for the Online Cup as he arranged online tuneup matches for him with local masters like GM Rogelio “Joey” Antonio and IM Ronald Dableo.
Severino also took part in numerous online tournaments, topping the 3rd Chooks-to-Go National Rapid Chess Champion and emerging overall champion in the Cesar Orbe Memorial Chess 960 series.
“Train, study and review games, that’s my daily routine,” said Severino, who idolizes the late American world champion Bobby Fischer.
Severino’s runner-up effort was worth 400 euros (about P22,000), which will supplement the allowance he receives from the Philippine Sports Commission as part of the national pool. – Rappler.com
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