RP chessers fifth in Asian Indoor Games

VIETNAM – The Philippines finished in a three-way tie for fifth to seventh places at the end of the chess team rapid competition in the third Asian Indoor Games here.

Bannered by GMs Rogelio Antonio Jr. and Mark Paragua, Catherine Perena and Shercila Cua, the Filipinos closed out with a nine-round total of 10 points based on match point score of five wins and four losses in the tough, 15-nation tournament.

The Philippines tied with Kazakhstan and Jordan with 10 points apiece.

China topped the preliminary round with a runaway total of 17 points on eight wins and one draw based on a scoring system which gives two points for a win, one point for a draw and zero for a loss.

Vietnam finished second with 14 points on seven wins and two losses, followed by India and Uzbekistan with 13 points on identical scores of six wins, one draw and two losses.

The Philippines had a roller-coaster ride during the tournament, winning five and losing four matches.

The Filipinos actually started strong, sweeping their first two assignments against Nepal (4-0) in the first round and Maldives ( 4-0) in the second round.

But four consecutive losses to India (.5-3.5), Vietnam (1-3), Iran (.5-3.5) and Uzbekistan (1.5-2.5) dashed the Filipinos’ hope of making it to the semifinal round.

Back-to-back victories over Thailand (4-0) in the eighth round and Qatar (3-1) in the ninth round enabled the four-player Philippine team to finish in the upper half of the standings.

Paragua, who manned board two, emerged as the Filipinos’ leading scorer with 5.5 points on five wins, one draw and two losses.

Antonio, one of three Filipinos who earned the right to compete in the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia later this month, finished with five points on four wins, two draws and two losses.

Cua, who played on board three, and Perena, who manned board four, finished with four wins and four losses apiece.

In the individual rapid, Antonio finished in a tie for sixth place with GM Mohammad Al Sayad of Qatar with six points, two full points behind GM Wang Hao of China.

Paragua finished in a tie for eighth to 13th places with five points.

In the women’s division, Perena and Cua finished fifth and seventh, respectively.

In the team blitz competition held earlier in the week, the Philippines also finished fifth overall behind eventual champion Vietnam, China, India and Iran.