RP chessers bounce back, climb to 37th

KHANTY-Mansiysk, Russia – The Philippines rebounded from a string of setbacks with a 4-0 rout of former Russian republic Turkmenistan as it gained a share of 27th place in the ninth round of the Chess Olympiad in Khanty, Mansiysk, Russia Thursday.

Grandmaster Wesley So, coming off a draw with former world champion Veselin Topalov in RP’s 1.5-2.5 loss to Bulgaria in the previous round, outplayed Mesgen Amanov in 48 moves of the Gruenfeld to lead the 37th-seeded Filipinos second shutout win in the 11-round tournament.

GMs Darwin Laylo and Eugene Torre and International Master Richard Bitoon also swept their respective matches. Laylo trounced IM Meylis Annaberdiev in 52 moves of the English Opening, Torre whipped FM Kasat Atabayev in 58 moves of the Owen’s defense, while Bitoon crushed FM Yusup Atabayev in 41 moves of another English Opening.

The win was Torre’s 89th in 20 stints in the biennial event. He also has 14 draws and 39 losses in record 243 games from 1970 to 2010.

The 58-year-old Torre, who became Asia’s first GM in the 1974 Nice Olympiad, also broke a tie with GM Miguel Najdorf of Argentina for second most points in Olympiad history.

He now has 146 points, one point ahead of Najdorf (145 points) for second all-time but way behind GM Lajos Portisch (176.5 points) of Hungary.

Bitoon, meanwhile, remains the Filipinos’ leading scorer with 5.5 points.

Overall, the Filipinos now have 11 points on five wins, one draw and three losses for joint 27th.

Ukraine bucked the loss of Vassily Ivanchuk to Shakhriyar Mamedyarov as it defeated Azerbaijan, 2.5-1.5, to keep a one-point lead over top seed Russia-1 and France.

Pavel Eljanov outdueled Rauf Mamedov while Zahar Efimenko bested Eltaj Safarli to clinch the win for the second-seeded Ukrainians.

Russia-1 beat defending champion Armenia, 2.5-1.5, in another battle of heavyweights with Peter Svidler providing the decisive win over Gabriel Sargissian.

France edged Georgia, 2.5-1.5, on victory by Sebastian Feller over Tamaz Gelashvili on board four.

But based on official tiebreaks, the Filipinos are in 37th place. They play Argentina in the penultimate round Friday.

In women’s play, the Philippines completed a twin kill as the RP ladies blasted Bolivia, 3.5-0.5 with Cheradee Chardine Camacho taking a rest.

Catherine Perena dumped WIM Daniela Cordero, Rulp Ylem Jose outclassed WFM Raisa Luna and Jedara Docena overpowered Gabriela Solis.

Shercila Cua settled for a draw with Eugenia Ramirez.

The win propelled the 52nd-seeded Filipinas to joint 34th with 10 points.