Phl finishes 46th in Chess Olympiad

MANILA, Philippines - GM Eugene Torre pulled off a win over IM Leonid Gerzhov while GM John Paul Gomez salvaged a draw from a losing position as the Philippines escaped with a 2-2 draw with Canada but still ended up at 46th in one of its worst finishes in the Chess Olympiad.

The Filipinos actually finished tied for 35th after the 11-round tournament with 13 points but wound up at 46th after the tiebreak at the close of the 41st staging of the biennial meet in Tromso, Norway Thursday.

Torre, 62, used his pet Torre Attack to trample Gerzhoy in 48 moves on Board 3 while Gomez snatched an 82-move draw against GM Eric Hansen in a Ruy Lopez game on Board 2 to salvage a standoff for the Filipinos.

GM Julio Catalino Sadorra also drew with GM Anton Kovalyov in 38 moves of a Nimzo-Indian Defense on the top board while GM Jayson Gonzales suffered his first defeat, a 42-move setback to GM Bator Sambuev of a Queen’s Pawn Gamein.

The Phl women’s team fared even worse, finishing at 64th with 11 points after bowing to lower ranked Belgium, 1-3.

Chardine Cheradee Camacho, Janelle Mae Frayna and Jan Jodilyn Fronda lost to Hanne Goossens, Iuliaa Morozova and Wiebke Barbier, respectively, while Christy Lamiel Bernales beat Sarah Dierckens in 22 moves of a French Defense for the lone point.

Meanwhile, China made history by becoming the first Asian team to win the men’s division crown with 19 points, two points clear of Hungary, India, Russia and next Olympiad host Azerbaijan.

Russia topped the women’s side.