RP chessers dismantle Uruguay

MANILA, Philippines - Grandmaster John Paul Gomez and IM Richard Bitoon stepped up and keyed the Philippines’ 3-1 romp over Uruguay with big wins in the fifth round of the 39th World Chess Olympiad at the Khanty-Mansiysk Sports Development Center in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia Sunday.

Gomez outdueled FM Manuel Larrea in 33 moves of the Neo Gruenfeld while Bitoon crushed Alvaro Guerrero in 43 moves of the Caro-Kann as the Filipinos wheeled back into the top 20.

GM Wesley So salvaged a draw in a tricky endgame duel with GM Andres Villa Rodriguez in 52 moves of the Trompovsky, while GM Eugene Torre halved the point with IM Bernardo Roselli in 26 moves of the Nimzo-Indian to complete Team RP’s victory.

The victory moved the 37th-seeded Filipinos to joint 16th with seven points on three wins, one draw and one loss in the match point-style scoring system which gives two points for a win, one point for a draw and zero for a loss.

The Filipinos, however, stood three points behind defending champion Armenia, Hungary and Georgia with six rounds left in the 11-round tournament.

Armenia subdued Russia-2, 2.5-1.5; Hungary shocked top seed Russia-1, 2.5-1.5, and Georgia overwhelmed Vietnam, 3.5-0.5, in featured fifth-round matches.

Gomez parlayed a slight middle game advantage into a smashing victory over the unfancied Larrea. He pounced on Larrea’s blunder which led to the queen capture on the 32nd move.  

Bitoon, who provided the lone victory in the Filipinos’ 2.5-1.5 win over Paraguay in the fourth round Saturday, gave up a rook for a knight on the 24th to gain the initiative then cashed in on a weak queen push by Guerrero four moves later to seize control in a rook- versus-bishop endgame.

With three wins and two draws, Bitoon remained the leading Filipino scorer.

Team RP takes on No. 35 Belarus in the sixth round. Led by GMs Sergey and Andrey Zhilgalko, Belarus subdued Peru, 2.5-1.5.

In women’s play, the Philippines drew with No. 28 Argentina, 2-2, to improve to six points on two wins, two draws and one loss.

Dresden Olympiad top scorer WFM Cheradee Camacho outwitted IM Carolina Lujan, WFM Shercila Cua escaped with a draw with WGM Claudia Amura and Rulp Ylem Jose blew a winning advantage and halved the point with WIM Marisa Zuniel.

Jedara Docena, who starred in the Filipinas’ 2-2 draw with Israel in the fourth round, lost her match against Maria Florencia Fernandez this time. 

The Filipinas are tied for 25th going into their sixth-round match against No. 56 Mexico.