The Philippine women’s team secured its second win after dominating Syria, 3.5-.5, Thursday night in Round 2 of the 46th World Chess Olympiad at the Silk Road International Exhibition Centre in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Mhage Sebastian, Jan Jodilyn Fronda and Shania Mae Mendoza won boards one, three and four while Ruelle Canino managed a draw with Manar Khalil on board two.
The Filipinas demolished their Malawi rivals, 4-0, in Round 1.
“The field is getting harder and harder each round,” national team coach and National Chess Federation secretary-general GM Jayson Gonzales said.
Janelle Mae Frayna, the country’s first and only Woman GM, is expected to play in Round 3 against Hungary after being rested in the first two rounds.
Frayna, who won two national titles in Bulacan and Isabela, will face IM Szidonia Lazarne-Vajda on second board.
Sebastian will continue to handle the top board after showing excellent form in the first two rounds, while Fronda was taking on IM Nomin-Erdene Davaadembere on board three and Shania Mae Mendoza clashing with WIM Kata Karaksonyi on board four.
Meanwhile, the men’s team lost to seventh seed Azerbaijan, 1-3.
International Masters Pau Bersamina and Jem Garcia halved the points with Grandmasters Aydin Suleymanli and Eltaj Safarli on boards two and four, respectively, while IM Michael Concio Jr. and GM Daniel Quizon lost to GMs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Mahammad Muradli on boards one and three.
The Philippines placed 59th in the men’s division, while the women’s team bagged the Category B gold medal to finish 24th two years ago in Budapest, Hungary.
Meanwhile, NCFP deputy president for Mindanao and Misamis Occidental Gov. Henry Oaminal Sr. has offered PHP1 million if the Philippines finishes in the Top 10 or PHP500,000 for a Top 20 finish. (PNA)
