RP 19th in World Chess Olympiad

The Philippines pulled the rug from under chess power Hungary, 2.5-1.5, and finished tied for 12th-20th places in the 36th World Chess Olympiad in Calvia, Majorca, Spain Saturday. Grandmaster-candidate Mark Paragua stunned GM Robert Ruck in their board 3 encounter to lead the Philippine siege while GMs Eugene Torre and Rogelio Antonio Jr. and International Master Jayson Gonzales drew with Super GMs Zoltan Almasi, Ferenc Berkes and former World Junior champion GM Peter Acs, respectively, as the Filipinos scored the win that gave them one of the country’s best finishes in the biennial competition.

The Philippines’ strong windup gave the team a total haul of 32 points, tying Poland, Switzerland, Uzbekistan, Serbia-Montenegro, Germany, Slovakia, Belarus and Romania.

The Philippines officially finished 19th after the tiebreak.

Still, it was a big accomplishment for the Philippines considering it was seeded only No. 40 in the 14-round Swiss system event after a 39th place finish the last time.

The Filipinos also emerged the second-best Asian team after world power India which amassed 34 points for sixth place behind eventual champion Ukraine (39.5), Russia (36.5), Armenia (36.5), United States (35.0) and Israel (34.5).

China, the Philippines’ fiercest rival in the region, finished 24th with 31.5 points.

The Philippines could have even landed in the Magic 10 had Gonzales not missed an opportunity to beat Acs on board 4.

Settling for a draw, Gonzales also missed earning his first GM norm. He accumulated eight points in 11 games.

"Sayang, na miss ko ang winning lines," said the 35-year-old Army enlisted man.

Paragua emerged the team’s man of the hour when he squeezed out the crucial win on board 3.

Paragua’s GM title has not been approved since organizers of the Alushta trilogy GMT event have yet to submit results of the tournaments where the Filipino took two first-places and one runner-up finish.

In the distaff side, the No. 64 seed Philippine team beat the No. 58 seed IPCA (International Paraplegic Chess Association), 2-1, to end up tied for 47th place.

Board 3 rookie player Loreshyl Cuizon crushed Aliya Kudrina while newly installed Woman International Master (WIM) Sheerie Joy Lomibao and WIM Beverly Mendoza drew with Martina Valickova and WFM Galina Dymshits.

The Filipinas accumulated 20.5 points to share 47th-54th places with Australia, Portugal, Venezuela, Iceland, Wales, Turkey and Brazil. They landed at 48th place after the tiebreak.

Ukraine and China won the gold medals in the men’s and women’s divisions, respectively.

Ukraine nipped France, 3-1, to score 39.5 points in the men’s side, three points ahead of defending champion Russia and Armenia, while China walloped Slovakia, 2-1, to score 31.0 points and retain the women’s title.