By Kristel Satumbaga
The Philippines ran into a red-hot Germany squad and absorbed a 5-1 defeat to slip into a share of third after three rounds of the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad Friday.
International Master Daniel Quizon averted a shutout as he miraculously turned a losing position into a stunning win over IM Roven Vogel while the rest of the Filipinos fell.
Grandmasters Mark Paragua and Banjo Barcenilla yielded to GMs Dennis Wagner and Daniel Fridman on the top two boards while WGM Janelle Mae Frayna, WIM Jan Jodilyn Fronda and WIM Kylen Joy Mordido succumbed to FM Lara Schulze, WGM Filiz Osmanodja and WIM Annmarie Muetsch on third, fourth and sixth boards.
The painful setback sent the Nationals sliding down to a share of third with Australia and Indonesia with four match points apiece, two points behind the co-leaders Germany and Bulgaria.
Paragua led the PH team’s shellacking of Kyrgyzstan, 6-0, in the opening round while Barcenilla delivered the match-saving win in a thrilling 3.5-2.5 victory over Southeast Asian foe Indonesia in the second round.
The Nationals play Belarus, Belgium and Australia in the next three rounds on Saturday, followed by Bulgaria, Bangladesh and Turkmenistan in the last three Sunday.
