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DRESDEN, Germany: The Philippines put up a brave
stand against highly-rated Czech Republic in the ninth round of the
38th World Chess Olympiad, dropping a close 1.5-2.5 decision on a
day John Paul Gomez became its newest grandmaster.
Gomez and GMs Wesley So and
Darwin Laylo drew their matches but GM Buenaventura “Bong’
Villamayor dropped a heartbreaker as the Filipinos suffered their
second straight setback and remained outside the magic circle in
this prestigious gathering of the world’s leading chess players.
Gomez shone brightest for the
38th-seeded Filipinos, holding GM Viktor Laznicka to a draw in 30
moves of the Queen’s Gambit Declined.
Gomez played cautiously, forcing
an early exchange of pawns and minor pieces at the center to
simplify the position.
The draw was enough for the
22-year-old campaigner from Biñan, Laguna to earn the elusive GM
title with a high Olympiad performance rating of 2606.
So, easily one of the most
popular young players here following his rise as the world’s
youngest GM during the Pichay Cup last year, settled for a draw by
repetition of moves with GM Zbynek Hracek in 23 moves of the
Sicilian Alapin.
Laylo, who edged close friend GM
Mark Paragua for the fifth and last slot to the national team,
halved the point with GM Jiri Stocek in 51 moves of Slav for the
Filipinos’ third draw.
Four-time Olympian Villamayor
continued his struggle, however.
The 41-year-old Villamayor lost
for the fourth time in seven matches, bowing to GM David Navara in
38 moves of the Slav.
Overall, the Filipinos dropped
into a tie for 64th to 80th places with only nine points on four
wins, one draw and four losses in the match point style scoring
system.
So remained as the country’s
only unbeaten player with three wins and five draws.
Laylo has two wins, two draws and
three losses.
Gomez, however, is the topscorer
for the team so far with six points on four wins, four draws and
only one loss.
Villamayor has three draws and
four losses while manning the fort on top board, while Gonzales has
one win, one draw and three losses on board three.
The Filipinos get a chance to
improve their 44th-place finish in the Turin Olympiad two years ago
when the meet lowly Tunisia.
In the women’s division, the
Philippines outduelled Brazil, 2.5-1.5, with Catherine Perena and
Shercila Cua providing the much-needed victories on the first two
boards.
Perena, who bagged the bronze
medal in the Asian Indoor Games in Macau last year, whipped WFM
Juliana Sayumi Terao in 40 moves of the Petroff.
Cua, a mainstay of the well-known
V. Luna Chess Club, trounced WFM Vanessa Feliciano in 42 moves of
the Queen’s Gambit Declined.
World Youth Championship
campaigner Christy Lamiel Bernales split the point with Cristina
Tatiane Coelho in 45 moves of the Center Counter.
Bingo Bonanza employee Daisy
Rivera was the lone casualty for the Idelfonso Datu-trained
women’s team, failing to WIM Joara Chaves in 42 moves of the
Sicilian.
The Filipinas’ fourth win in
the match point style scoring system earned them a center stage
showdown against host Germany-1 in the 10th and penultimate round on
Sunday.
Israel, bannered by super GM
Boris Gelfand, brought down defending champion Armenia to wrest the
solo lead with 16 points with still two rounds remaining.
Ukraine, led by GMs Vassily
Ivanchuk and Sergey Karjakin, toppled top seed Russia to forge a
two-way tie for second to third places with Ukraine with 15 points.
Serbia outsteadied erstwhile solo
leader China, Ukraine nipped Romania and Poland downed the United
States to share the lead in the women’s division.
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