4 GMs in young RP squad to Chess Olympiad
Written by Ms. Confuse on Friday, September 05, 2008A new-look Philippine team led by International Master John Paul Gomez and Grandmaster Wesley So will compete in the 38th Chess Olympiad set in Dresden, Germany, from Nov. 12 to 25. The 22-year-old Gomez and the 14-year-old So wound up 1-2 in the National Chess Federation of the Philippines qualifiers that ended Sunday night at the Kaban ng Hiyas Building in Mandaluyong City. Joining them in the team bidding to improve on its 44th-place effort in the 2006 Turin Olympiad are GMs Bong Villamayor, Jayson Gonzales and Darwin Laylo, who finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 17-round qualifier. Gomez, a mechanical engineering student at De La Salle University, drew his final-round match with fellow IM Rolando Nolte after 31 moves of the French defense to fend off So’s rally with 13 points. So, the country’s highest-ranked player with an ELO of 2577, handed Gomez his lone defeat in the 16th round and then bested IM Ronald Bancod in 28 moves of a Caro Kann to finish with 12.5 points.
The 41-year-old Villamayor will be vying in his fifth Olympiad with 11.5 points, while Laylo will be making his third straight appearance with 10 points. Gonzales, a veteran of the 2004 Calvia Olympiad, matched Laylo’s total following a draw with National Master Leonardo Carlos in 30 moves of a King’s Indian Defense. Laylo outplayed IM Chito Garma in 31 moves of the English Opening while Villamayor split the point with GM Mark Paragua after 30 moves of the Slav. Actually, Paragua wound up tied with Gonzales and Laylo at 10 points but he missed the Olympiad berth with a lower tiebreak score.
Final men’s standings:
13.0 points—J. Gomez; 12.5—W. So; 11.5—B. Villamayor; 10.0—J. Gonzales, D. Laylo, M. Paragua; 9.5—C. Garma; 9 – L. Carlos,R. Nolte; 8.5—J. Sadorra; 7.5—R. Bancod, R. Bitoon; 6.5—N. de le Cruz; 6.0—J. Nodado, H. Pascua, J. Habla; 5.5—B. Nadera; 5.0—E. Gatus.
Final women’s standings:
8.0—C. Perena; 7.5—Shercila Cua, D. Rivera; 7.0—C. Camacho; 6.0—C.. Bernales, Sherily Cua, J. Fronda; 5.0—C. Mariano; 4.5—K. Cunanan; 3.5—R. Young; 3.0—E. Magno; 2.0—E. Tumbos.
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