Philippines chessers firm on Top 10 target

MANILA, Philippines —  Hope springs eternal for the Philippines as it aims to come through in the last five rounds for a shot at a top 10 finish in the 46th World Chess Olympiad at the Silk Road International Exhibition Centre in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

The Filipinos, currently in a 30-country logjam at 29th spot with eight match points, were battling the Argentines while Filipinas, in a 30-nation tie for 28th, were clashing with Kyrgyzstan in the seventh round at presstime.

“We’re still optimistic of a potential top 10 finish,” said national women’s coach Grandmaster Jayson Gonzales.

For it to happen though, the Philippines, which is being sponsored by the Philippine Sports Commission, would have to start pulling the rug from high-rated opponents.

But so far, they have not done it yet and lost the two times they faced higher-seeded rivals with the men’s squad falling to Azerbaijan and host Uzbekistan 2 and the women succumbing to Hungary and Spain.

It could start happening in the seventh round if the stars align.

The men’s best-ever finish of seventh place came in 1988 in Thessaloniki, Greece where Grandmaster Eugene Torre, now the national men’s team coach, was then the top board player while the women’s highest effort in recent times was the 24th place performance two years ago in Budapest, Hungary.

It was also in the Hungarian capital where the Filipinas earned a Category B gold.

Another thing to aspire for was the P1 million promised by delegation head and Misamis Occidental Gov. Henry Oaminal, Sr. for a top 10 finish.