Ino and the gutsy Pinoy chessers

MANILA, Philippines — From the Olympics to Olympiad.

From the lights of Paris to the hustle and bustle of the ancient city of Budapest.

The sporting eye of the nation has shifted its focus on a band of gutsy Filipino men and women in fierce skirmishes with super and traditional powers in the current 45th Chess Olympiad.

Two excellent victories over super GMs by Julio Catalino “Ino” Sadorra and the end of the excruciating journey of Daniel Quizon that made him the 17th Filipino GM, have caught the attention of Filipino fans all over. The other members are Paolo Bersamina and John Paul Gomez.

No sooner had the euphoria of Carlos Yulo’s epic two-gold feat had died down than the country is again staying up late to see how the Pinoy chessers had made the moves to match or better the best ever seventh place finish the Philippine team had made in the 1982 Games in Thessaloniki, Greece.

And behind this incredible surge is Sadorra, the once poster boy of the future of Philippine chess, hurdling lifetime gambit after gambit to emerge a strong bet to medal in the cutthroat Board One action among the finest minds of contemporary chess after a blistering start.

Sadorra had 3.5 points in four games. He stunned super Grandmasters Vladimir Fedoseev, a Russian émigré, in the Filipinos’ 2.5-1.5 win over the Slovenians in the fifth round and Haik Martirosyan in their 2.5-1.5 defeat to the Armenians in the sixth round. He is currently ranked fifth with a tournament performance rating of 2879.

“I made an extra effort in trying to focus more on finding ways to win and play extra cautious. I hope I can sustain my performance,” said Sadorra.

Skipper GM Eugene Torre, meanwhile, said Ino is “doing great. We’re doing good despite our loss in the last round. We just have to focus on the present and future games.”

At age 38, Sadorra, who is into his fourth Olympiad, seems to have stilled the restlessness in his soul.

Consider: He endured long years living in Singapore and obtained college degree cum laude and found the love of his life in the US where he has settled down and now coaches the college team of University of Texas in Dallas.

“He has come a long way,” recalled his mom, Luisa, citing highlights of his career, starting as a wide-eyed six-year-old discovering the nuances of the Sicilian Defense in a cramped chess room in Port Area, earning a berth to the World Youth and is now among the best and the brightest in Budapest.