'Battle of Grandmasters' slated to boost Filipino chess Olympiad squad

MANILA, Philippines – The National Chess Federation of the Philippines is bent on improving the national team that it will send to the 44th World Chess Olympiad, which was reset from this year to the next due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

NCFP executive director Cliburn Orbe on Sunday said they would hold a national championship and a Battle of Grandmasters (BOGM) to allow the country to come up with the best team possible in the biennial event.

“There will be a BOGM this year. After it, we’ll see what’s best for the team,” Orbe told The STAR.

The decision came after the Agila ng Pilipinas came heartbreakingly close to claiming the third and final berth to Division I of the first FIDE Online Chess Olympiad.

That final slot went to the Indonesians, whom the Filipinos beat, 3.5-2.5, in the second round.

Bulgaria and top seed Germany booked the first two seats.

What did the Nationals in was the decision to sit out their top players Grandmaster Mark Paragua, Woman GM Janelle Mae Frayna and International Master Daniel Quizon against lower-ranked Belgium in the fifth round that led to a 2.5-3.5 defeat.

If the Philippines had won that match, it would have wound up at joint third and possibly edging its Southeast Asian rival Indonesia for that one slot to the top division.

Instead, it would be Indonesia joining regional powerhouse Vietnam as Southeast Asia’s bets to Division I.

Orbe said they are moving on and looking at the future.

“We’re still hoping to restart the legs of our National Championship later this year, then a semifinal and a final where all GMs are invited to join. GMs abroad can play via Zoom shared screen and online via chess.com,” said Orbe.

The United States-based GMs the NCFP wants to lure included Julio Catalino Sadorra and Oliver Barbosa.