Chennai

Barcenilla saves day as PH draws with No. 22 Israel

August 5, 2022 Ed Andaya 319 views

THE Philippine continued its impressive showing in the 44th FIDE World Chess Olympiad, holding No. 22 seed Israel to an upset 2-2 draw in Chennai, India.

Grandmaster Rogelio Barcenilla. Jr. shone brightest for the 52nd-seeded Filipinos as he pulled the rug from under GM Tamir Nabaty (ELO 2631)in their board two encounter.

GMs Mark Paragua and Darwin Laylo also did well as they split the point with Avital Boruchovsky and Ilia Smirin on boards one and three, respectively.

IM Paulo Bersamina was the lone casualty for the GM Eugene Torre-coached Filipinos, yielding to GM Evgeny Postny on board four.

Overall, the Philippine Sports Commission-supported Filipinos remained in a share of 14th to 25th places with nine match points.

The Filipinos are three full points behind solo leader Armenia, which edged India-2, 2.5-1.5 at the top board; and two points behind top seed United States, which bested Iran,2.5-1.5.

Up next for the Filipinos in the seventh round is No. 5 seed Poland, which dropped a 1.5-2.5 decision to Serbia.

In the women’s division, the Philippines was held to a similar 2-2 draw by lower-ranked Ecuador to skid to a share of 48th place with seven match points.

Kylen Joy Mordido saved the day for the 39th-seeded Filipinas with a victory over Analia Karen Miranda Vargas on board four.

WIMs Jan Jodilyn Fronda and Marie Antoinette San Diego split the point with Carla Heredia Serrano and Josselyne Penafidel Mendoza on boards one and three.

WFM Shania Mae Mendoza, on the other hand, suffered a board two defeat against Anahi Ortiz Verdezoto.

It was the second straight setback for Mendoza after a hot 2-0 start.

The GM Jayson Gonzales-mentored Filipinas hope to regain lost ground when they face No. 60 Bolivia, 3-1 winner over Kenya.

Top seed India-1, led by GMs Humpy Koneru and Dronavalli Harika, outplayed perennial champion Georgia, 3-1, to take solo lead with 12 points.

Azerbaijan humbled Kazakhstan, 3-1, while Romania drew with Ukraine, 2-2, to share second place with 11 points.

Standings after six rounds:

Men

12 points –Armenia
11 — USA
10 — India-2, Uzbekistan, France, India-1, Netherlands, Cuba, India-3, Germany, Kazakhstan, Serbia,Peru
9 — England, Spain, Israel, Greece, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Iran, Australia, Austria, Hungary, Philippines, Brazil.

Women

12 points — India-1
11 — Azerbaijan, Romania
10 –Poland, Ukraine, Armenia, Bulgaria, Israel, Georgia, Vietnam, Netherlands
9 — Spain, Greece, Kazakhstan, India-2, Mongolia, Czech Republic, Estonia, India-3, Cuba, Switzerland, Slovakia,Croatia
8 — Hungary,Germany, France, Indonesia, USA, Peru, Canada, Iran, Sweden, Turkey, England, Serbia, Lithuania, Uzbekistan, Chile, Singapore, Italy, Austria, Argentina, Denmak, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, Macedonia
7 — Philippines and 13 others

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