CALOOCAN Load Manna Knights and Iloilo Kisela Knights came through with two more impressive victories to keep their unbeaten records in the 2022 PCAP-GM Wesley So Cup chess championships recently.

Caloocan outclassed 2021 All-Filipino champion Laguna Heroes, 16-5, in the sixth round and Olongapo Rainbow, 18-3, the following round to stay undefeated with seven victories in the Northern Division.

Southeast Asian Games silver medalist IM Paulo Bersamina and new addition IM Chito Garma led the Load Manna Knights’ impressive showing on the fourth playing day of the tournament organized by the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines and sponsored by San Miguel Corporation, Ayala Land and PCWorx.

Bersamina, Garma and Paul Sanchez swept their respective matches against their Laguna and Olongapo rivals to power the Atty. Arnel Batungbakal-owned Load Manna Knights to a 7-0 start.

Caloocan’s perfect 7-0 start is their best since they opened the inaugural All- Filipino Cup with an 11-0 run last year.

The Load Manna Knights also received a tremendous boost with the entry of WIM Hanh Luong Phuong of Vienam,who edged Karen Jean Enriquez of Laguna, 2-1, in the women’s board.

Caloocan’s other victories came against Quezon City Simba’s Tribe, 14-7; Cavite Spartans, 11.5-9.5; Mindoro Tamaraws, 16.5-4.5; Pasig, 105-10.5 (2-1 Armageddon); and San Juan Predators, 11.5-9.5.

“Not to take anything away from the performance of our senior players in the past, but the consistency of IM Chito (Garma) is infectious and it has affected the team in a positive way as seen in the performance of our team,” Batungbakal told mediamen in assessing the team’s early performance.

Over in the Southern Division, Iloilo also stayed undefeated following 12-9 victory over Toledo Trojans and 12.5-8.5 triumph over Camarines Sur-Iriga Oragons.

The GM Rogelio Antonio, Jr.-led Kisela Knights have shown consistent performance so far in the tournament serving as the second conference of the country’s only professional chess league.

Pasig Pirates overpowered Manila Indios Bravos, 17-4, and Isabela Knights Raiders, 16.5-4.5; while Cavite Trojans

outsteadied RizalTowers, 11-10, and Quezon City Simba’s Tribe, 12-9, to keep second and third places with 6-1 and 5-2 records, respectively.

Two-time champion San Juan Predators bounced back from a rare shutout by humbling Cagayan Kings, 13-8,and Manila Indios Bravos, 12.5-8.5.

The twin victories enabled the Predators to forge a four-way tie with Cagayan, Laguna and Isabela with similar 4-3 slates.

Camarines-Iriga bested Tacloban Vikings, 16-5, to keep second place with a 6-1 record.

The tournament is sanctioned by the Games and Amusements Board (GAB), headed by Chairman Abraham “Baham” Mitra and supported by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), headed by Chairman Prospero “Butch” Pichay.