RP chessers rip Singapore

GRANDMASTERS Eugene Torre and Wu Shaobin agreed to a draw, but the rest of the matches went the Philippines’ way as it crushed Singapore, 3.5-0.5, on Wednesday night after the 12th round of the 36th World Chess Olympiad in Mallorca, Spain.

GM Rogelio “Joey” Antonio, International Master Mark Paragua and National Open champion Darwin Laylo routed their 57th-seeded rivals from boards 2 to 4 to give the Filipinos the much-needed points that would allow the country to crash at least the top 20 heading into the final two rounds of the biennial chessfest.