Ukraine stops Pinoys’ surge

The National Chess Federation of the Phils.-backed Philippine team took a numbing 0.5-3.5 loss to powerhouse Ukraine Sunday and came tumbling down from joint 10th to a share of 25th place with eight others in the eighth round of the World Chess Olympics in Istanbul, Turkey.

Only GM Bong Villamayor survived the onslaught of the sixth-seeded squad as he forced GM Vladimir Baklan to a draw in their Reti game for the Filipinos’ half-point that hardly hiked their output to 18.5 points with five rounds left in the Swiss system event.

GM Eugene Torre squandered a drawish position when he blundered in a rook exchange on the 33rd move, leaving him with a bishop against Super GM Vassily Ivanchuk’s knight.

Ivanchuk, toting an Elo rating of 2719, then pressed his attack at kingside with a pawn bind working with his knight and, with his king coming into play, forced the Filipino top player to resign on the 39th.

GM Rogelio Antonio, Jr. and IM Barlo Nadera likewise fell to GMs Ruslan Ponomariov and Veredan Eingorn, respectively, with the former losing to a 16-year-old prodigy and the latter failing to sustain what had appeared to be a slight advantage in the middlegame of a Slav-Meran encounter.

The setback came after the team surprised China, 2.5-1.5, Saturday and dropped the Filipinos to 25th place.

In women’s play, the RP team bowed to Croatia, 1-2, with Beverly Mendoza and Christine Espallardo saving the point with draws as Arianne Caoili lost anew.