PH men’s team clobbers Cyprus, women’s squad bows to Serbia in Chess Olympiad

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine men’s team rebounded with a 3-1 victory over Cyprus in the third round of the 44th Chess Olympiad on Sunday, July 31, in Chennai, India.

Arizona-based Grandmaster Rogelio Barcenilla, GM John Paul Gomez, and GM Darwin Laylo bested their respective opponents to make up for New York-based GM Mark Paragua’s upset loss to Fide Master Konstantino Michaelides at the top board.

The Filipinos raised their total to 4 points, including their 4-0 shutout victory over the Omanis in the inaugural round and their 1-3 defeat to the sixth-seeded Azerbaijanis in the open division, where they’re ranked 52nd.

The Filipinas, on the other hand, yielded to the higher-ranked Serbians, 1.5-2.5, for their first loss in the women’s division.

Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna, Woman International Master Jan Jodilyn Fronda, and WIM Kylen Joy Mordido were able to hold their higher-rated rivals to draws on boards 1, 2 and 4, but Shania Mae Mendoza bowed to fellow WIM Adela Velikic on board 3.

Like the Filipinos, the Filipinas have 4 points following their 4-0 blanking of the Guamanians and their 2.5-1.5 triumph over the Nicaraguans.

The Philippine teams will try to stay in the upper half of the standings when they tackle lightly regarded opponents in the fourth round on Monday.

The Filipinos are pitted against No. 69 Angola and No. 89 Monaco in the open division.

Men’s coach GM Eugene Torre will be fielding Barcenilla against WGM Tatiana Dornbusch, Gomez against Karl Johna Ribbegren, Laylo against FM Patrice Verdier, and International Master Paulo Bersamina against FM Patrick Van Hoolandt.

Women’s coach GM Jayson Gonzales will be pitting Frayna against WIM Esperanca Cax, Fronda against WFM Ednasia Junior, San Diego against WFM Luzia Pires, and WIM Kylen Joy Mordido against Renelsa Taiane Antonio.

India 2 heads 19 other teams, including heavy favorite Team USA, with a perfect 6 points in the open division, where the Filipinos currently occupy the 26th to 89th slot.

Bulgaria, Ukraine, and surprising Mongolia lead the perfect scorers in the women’s division, where the Philippines currently sits at 22nd to 73rd spot. – Rappler.com