Phl chessers brace for duel vs Bulgarians

MANILA, Philippines -  The Philippines took a much-needed one-day breather as it gears up for a tougher grind ahead with its men’s team taking on 10th seed Bulgaria and its women’s squad facing 14th pick France in the 6th round of the World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Phl men’s team smashed Iceland, 3-1, to seize a share of fifth place with eight points while the women’s side dumped South Africa, 3-1, to grab a piece of sixth spot likewise with eight points.

The Filipinos, who are seeded 35th, will take on No. 10 Bulgaria next while the Filipinas, who are ranked 57th, will tackle No. 14 France in matches that could make or break their respective campaigns.

The Phl is expected to field in Grandmasters Wesley So, Oliver Barbosa, Eugene Torre and Mark Paragua or the same roster it played when it routed Iceland, a traditional power but surprisingly brought a lower-rated team here.

Both Barbosa and Paragua are the Phl’s highest scorers with four points each on three wins and two draws apiece while So has 3.5 points with two wins and three standoffs. Torre drew his first and only game thus far.

IM Oliver Dimakiling, the other member of the team, has won his first three matches and lost the last in a 1.5-2.5 defeat at the hands of third seed Armenia, which now shares the lead with top seed Russia on perfect 10 points.

The Bulgarians, for their part, will field GMs Veselin Topalov, Kiril Georgiev, Ivan Chiparenov and Alexander Delchev, whose average rating of 2678 is way higher than the Filipinos’ average rating of 2546.

International Masters Almira Schripchenko, Sophie Milliet and Silvia Collas and WIM Andreea Bollengier will play for the French against WIM Catherine Perena, Janelle Mae Frayna, Jedara Docena and Jan Jodilyn Fronda.