PH women’s team nets best Chess Olympiad finish in nearly 4 decades
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines finished 24th overall in the women’s division of the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, wrapping a campaign highlighted by a number of milestones on Sunday, September 22.
Shania Mae Mendoza, Janelle Mae Frayna, Jan Jodilyn Fronda, and Ruelle Canino all delivered as the Filipinas blanked Brazil, 4-0, in their final assignment to notch their highest ranking in nearly four decades.
The Philippines garnered 14 match points to share 22nd place with 14 others and ended up at 24th overall after tiebreaks were applied — its best placing since Girme Fontanilla, Mila Emperado, and Cristina Santos-Fidaer got 22nd in the 1988 edition in Thessaloniki, Greece.
“This is a milestone in Philippine chess history, a legacy that will not be forgotten for the generations to come,” said Grandmaster Jayson Gonzales, the coach of the national women’s team.
Also surpassing their 36th-place finish two years ago in Chennai, India, the Filipinas bagged the gold medal in Group B, which consists of the 35th to 70th ranked countries in the 181-country field.
It was the first mint for the country since the women’s squad of Sheerie Joey Lomibao, Catherine Pereña, Sherily Cua, and Beverly Mendoza struck gold in Group C in the 2006 edition in Turin, Italy.
The Philippines’ only Woman Grandmaster, Frayna emerged as the best scorer with 8 points out of 11 games, while Mendoza tallied 5.5 out of 10 while manning the top board.
Fronda totaled 6.5 points out of 10 games, Canino scored 6 points out of eight, while Bernadette Galas gained 3 points out of five.
The Filipinas’ effort somehow made up for the 59th-place finish of the men’s team composed of Julio Catalino Sadorra, Daniel Quizon, Paulo Bersamina, John Paul Gomez, and Jan Emmanuel Garcia, and mentored by Eugene Torre with 12 points.
The men’s squad was tied for 15th spot, with Sadorra running third and in medal contention in the individual board one race after the ninth round of this 11-round tilt, but dropped its last two outings to Georgia, 2.5-1.5, and Hungary B, 3-1.
Sadorra eventually ended up 13th at board one but still had a strong performance rating of 2715 after scoring 6.5 points out of nine games.
India topped both open and women’s events as well as the Gaprindashvili Cup, a plum for a country with the highest combined score of both its men’s and women’s teams. – Rappler.com