Final standings after seven rounds:
13 points –Russia-1*
12 — Ukraine-3*
11 — Poland-1*, Russia-2*
10 — Poland-3, Poland-2, Germany, Philippines-1, Philippines-2
9 — Israel, Hungary, Venezuela, India-2, North Macedonia, United States, Chile, India-1.
* — semifinalists
THE Philippines’ campaign in the first FIDE Online Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities ended on a sad note.
The Philippines-1 failed to keep up with Russia-1, losing 1-3, in the seventh and final round and tumbling out of the semifinal round of this unique competition organized by FIDE as part of the United Nations “International Day of Persons with Disabilities” celebrations on Dec. 3.
Bannered by IPCA world champion FM Sander Severino and AGM Henry Lopez, the Filipinos were simply not up to the challenge.
Severino, the sixth highest-rated player in the tournament with an ELO of 2364, lost to FM Stanislav Babarykin in 50 moves of the London System in their top board encounter.
And Lopez, who played on his birthday, fell to IM Andrei Obodchuk in 70 moves of the Queen’s Indian Defense on board two.
The third man on the team– Darry Bernardo — was also not as fortunate and suffered his first defeat in seven games at the hands of highly-rated Alexey Smirnov.
Cheyzer Crystal Mendoza averted a shutout for the Filipinos by beating WIM Svetlana Gerasimova in the all-female board four showdown.
With the setback, the James Infiesto-coached team dropped into a tie for fifth to ninth places with Poland-3, Poland-2, Germany and the Philippines-2 with 10 points on four wins, two draws and one loss.
Philippines-2, guided by Felix Aguilera and Cheryl Angot, edged Croatia, 2.5-1.5, to barge into the Top 10 in the online tournament which attracted 395 players from 44 countries.
“ After Bernardo fell and Mendoza equalized, Severino and Lopez– who played on his birthday– were not up to the challenge,” said veteran chess journalist Ignacio Dee.
“The Russians were too solid and exploited small advantages so well our players had little counterplay. But let us be proud that our players fought to bring us near the semis until the end,” he added.
The Filipinos’ campaign in the tournament is sponsored by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), headed by Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez, and National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), led by President/Chairman Prospero “ Butch” Pichay.
The moves:
Round 7
S. Babaryakin vs. S. Severino
1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 e6 3. e3 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nd2 d5 6. Ngf3 Bd6 7. Bg3 O-O 8. Bb5 Bxg3 9. hxg3 Qb6 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. Qc2 cxd4 12. cxd4 Ba6 13. Ne5 g6 14. f3 Rfb8 15. Nb3 Bc4 16. Nxc4 dxc4 17. Qxc4 a5 18. Rb1 e5 19. O-O Nd5 20. Rfe1 exd4 21. Nxd4 Rc8 22. b3 Qc7 23. Rbc1 Qd6 24. e4 Ne7 25. e5 Qd8 26. e6 f6 27. Qc5 Qe8 28. Rcd1 Rd8 29. Ne2 a4 30. Nc3 axb3 31. axb3 Rxd1 32. Rxd1 Rd8 33. Rxd8 Qxd8 34. Ne4 Kg7 35. Qc3 Qb6+ 36. Kh2 Nd5 37. Qa1 Qc7 38. Kh1 h5 39. Qa6 Ne7 40. Qa3 g5 41. Qc5 Nd5 42. Nd6 Kg6 43. Qc2+ Kh6 44. Nf5+ Kh7 45. Ne7+ Kh8 46. Nxd5 Qxg3 47. Qc3 cxd5 48. e7 Qb8 49. Qxf6+ Kh7 50. Qf7+ 1-0
H.Lopez vs. A.Obodchuk 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. e3 Be7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O c5 10. Nxd5 exd5 11. Qc2 h6 12. b3 Nd7 13. Bb2 Rc8 14. Qe2 Bd6 15. Ne5 Nf6 16. f4 Qe7 17. a4 a5 18. Rac1 Ne4 19. f5 cxd4 20. exd4 Qg5 21. Rcd1 Rfe8 22. Bxe4 dxe4 23. f6 gxf6 24. Ng4 Ba6 25. Nxf6+ Qxf6 26. Qxa6 Qh4 27. g3 Bxg3 28. Qe2 Qxh2+ 29. Qxh2 Bxh2+ 30. Kxh2 Rc2+ 31. Kg3 Rxb2 32. Kf4 Rxb3 33. d5 e3 34. Rfe1 f6 35. d6 Kf7 36. d7 Rd8 37. Kf5 Rc3 38. Rd6 Rc5+ 39. Kf4 Re5 40. Rxe3 Rxe3 41. Kxe3 Ke7 42. Rxb6 Rxd7 43. Rb5 Kf7 44. Rxa5 Kg6 45. Rb5 Rd1 46. a5 Ra1 47. Kf4 Ra4+ 48. Kg3 f5 49. Rb6+ Kg5 50. a6 h5 51. Rb8 Ra3+ 52. Kf2 Rxa6 53. Rg8+ Kf4 54. Rh8 Ra2+ 55. Kg1 Kg3 56. Rg8+ Kf3 57. Rh8 Rg2+ 58. Kh1 Rg5 59. Kh2 f4 60. Kh3 Re5 61. Ra8 Kf2 62. Ra1 f3 63. Kh2 Re1 64. Ra3 Re2 65. Kh3 Re3 66. Ra1 h4 67. Kh2 Rd3 68. Ra4 Ke2 69. Re4+ Re3 70. Rf4 f2 0-1
