by Rey Bancod
Women chessers continued their giant-killing run Sunday, toppling 15th-ranked Spain, 3-1, to climb to a share of 13th place in the 43rd World Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia.
That’s the highest placing the Filipinas have achieved so far halfway through the world’s most prestigious chess team event.
The Filipinas won matches with the white pieces courtesy of WFM Shania Mae Mendoza in board two and WIM Bernadette Galas in board four and held on to halve the points with black through top board player WGM Janelle Mae Frayna and WIM Marie Antoinette San Diego.
With four wins and a draw against one defeat, the Filipinas now have 9 points in a tie with Georgia 2, Kazakhstan, Peru, Lithuania, Serbia, Hungary and Argentina.
A win is worth 2 points while a draw is equivalent to 1 point.
At 43rd, the Philippines is the lowest ranked team in the Top 20.
“Five more rounds. Let’s see what will be the final result,” said women’s team captain Grandmaster Jayson Gonzales. But we are hopeful to finish decently. All members of the team are doing their hard work and preparation.”
The Filipinas get another acid test against No. 14 Georgia 2 Monday.
Meanwhile, the Filipinos snapped a three-game losing streak in the Open section by blanking lowly Jersey, 4-0.
Well rested following a one-day break, GM Julio Catalino Sadorra, GM John Paul Gomez, IM Jan Emmanuel Garcia and IM Haridas Pascua hurdled their assignments as the Filipinos improved to a tie for 77th with 6 points.
They get another chance to climb in the standings against Albania on Monday.
Mendoza picked up her fourth win against a loss and a draw to become the team’s top scorer. Her 85-move win against FM Martin Garcia showed her competence in closed positions. She managed to gain a two-pawn advantage in the rook-and-pawn endgame to prevail.
Galas, on the other hand, scored her third straight win at the expense of WGM Ruiz Calzetta in 56 moves.
Frayna held IM Sabrina Vega Gutierrez to a 38-move draw while Marie Antoinette San Diego failed to convert a pawn advantage in an opposite colored bishop ending and settled for a 73-all standoff with IM Ana Matnadze.
The Filipinas are on track of at least matching the country’s best finish of 22nd place in 1988 in Thessaloniki, Greece.
The United States, Georgia 1 and Armenia pace the women’s division with 11 points while Azerbaijan and Poland shared the lead in the Open section with 12 points apiece.
