RP chessers bounce back, rip Argentines

The Philippines bounced back from a stinging 12th round defeat to Georgia Thursday as it thumped Argentina, 3-1, Friday to revive its hopes of finishing in the top 15 with one round left in the 34th World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey.

GMs Rogelio Antonio, Jr. and Buenaventura Villamayor outclassed their respective rivals to set the tone for the rout as the Filipinos hiked their output to 29.5 points to gain a share 23rd place with six others, including tormentors Spain and the United States.

Antonio beat Alfredo Giaccio in 47 moves of a French defense where the Filipino used his endgame brilliance to outwit his rival, while Villamayor sacrificed a knight in the middlegame to gain a positional advantage then pressed his attack on Alejandro Hoffman’s fort to win in 43 moves of a Reti game.

GM Eugene Torre settled for a draw with GM Daniel Campora in a rook-and-pawn endgame of a Sicilian while NM Idelfonso Datu likewise halved the point with Guillermo Soppe on board 4.

The RP women’s team gained some measure of pride by blanking Colombia, 3-0, as Arianne Caoili, Beverly Mendoza and Christine Espallardo outplayed M. Mateus, M. Palao and N. Ortiz, respectively.

The 14-round Swiss system event takes a rest Saturday with the final round slated Sunday morning.