Wesley So Cup Quarterfinals: Iloilo, Negros, Davao, Toledo enter semis

MANILA, Philippines – The Iloilo Kisela Knights had a brush with their chess mortality when the Tacloban Vikings pushed them all the way to Armageddon.

Iloilo looked like they were going to coast all the way to the semifinals of Professional Chess Association’s Wesley So Cup after they laid waste to Tacloban 20-1.

The Vikings showed their mettle in the second set when they overcame a 4.5-2.5 deficit in blitz play to send the game to extra boards with an 11-3 win in rapid play for a 13.5-7.5 result. It was a shocking turn of events in rapid play, with all of Tacloban’s players beating the star-studded lineup of Iloilo. Only GM Joey Antonio scored points for Iloilo.

In extra boards, Iloilo’s top three players — GM Hovhannes Gabuzyan, Karl Viktor Ochoa and Antonio turned — up the heat on the Vikings to take a 3-0 win over Jimmy Ty Jr., Remegio Galenzoga and Norman Montejo.

It was an exhilarating win for Iloilo, which is only now three wins away from defending the Wesley So Cup title it won last year. It was also a sad end to the run of Tacloban, which had climbed out of the lower tier of the southern division to barge into the playoffs.

In other Southern Division quarterfinals action, the Davao Chess Eagles turned back Zamboanga, 14.5-6.5 and 13.5-7.5. 

The Negros Kingsmen dispatched the Camarines-Iriga Soaring Eagles also in two sets, 17-4 and 15.5-5.5.

The Toledo Trojans also returned to the Final Four of the conference with a 13-8 and 11-10 win over the Surigao Fianchetto Checkmates. 

The semifinals of both the North and South Divisions will be played this Saturday, July 30.

Iloilo will face Toledo while Negros and Davao will battle at 7 p.m.