RP bets make inroads in int’l chess

HAI KIDIKI, Greece – Seven wins, six draws and seven losses.

That’s the record of the Philippines after two rounds in the 2003 World Youth Chess Championships at the Athos Palace Hotel here Friday.

Julius Joseph de Ramos posted wins over Kakashidze of Georgia and IM Aldy Ahmed of Egypt in the boys 16 years-old-and-under category to become the country’s leading scorer after two rounds of the 11-round tournament.

No. 105 seed Karl Victor Ochoa and No. 118 seed Wesley So also made their presence felt by registering one win and one draw in their respective age categories.

Jan Jodilyn Mendoza also had one win and a draw in the girls 10-under category.

Cheyzer Crystal Mendoza redeemed herself from a heartbreaking opening-day loss to beat Tamzin Oliver of Australia in the 12-under class.

"I think the players are doing very well, considering the long journey that we had from Manila to Kuala Lumpur to Vienna to Thessaloniki," said head coach and GM Eugene Torre.

The other Filipino campaigners struggled against their higher-rated and more-experienced rivals.

Former ASEAN champion Oliver Barbosa had one win and one draw, while Nelson Mariano III, the third in the chess-playing family from Bacoor, Cavite, lost his first-round match and drew in the second in the boys 14-under class.

Sherilyn Cua of the University of the Philippines had two draws.

More than 1,000 players from 84 countries are seeing action in the annual tournament being organized by the Greek Chess Federation as part its buildup to the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.