RP chessers falter, miss bronze medal in AIG

HANOI – The Philippine chess team faltered in a game that mattered most as they missed the chance of securing a bronze medal in the team mixed blitz event in the ongoing 3rd Asian Indoor Games at the Quang Ninh Gymnasium in Vietnam. The team faced fourth seed Iran as their final opponent in the preliminary round and although Grandmaster Rogelio Antonio drew with Iranian GM Elshan Moradiabi in board 2 and Women FIDE Master Shercila Cua surprising GM Paridar Shadi in board four, GM Mark Paragua and WFM Catherine Perena lost to their rivals ending the team’s quest of advancing in the medal round. Playing at the top board, Paragua bowed to GM Ehsan Ghaem Magami while Perena, a bronze medalist in the 2007 Macau Indoor Games, dropped her match against WIM Ghadeer Pour Shayesteh in board three as the Philippines took a 2.5-1.5.5-2.5 defeat. The loss took a heavy blow for the nationals whose campaign was supported by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) as the team ended the nine-round action with 11 points, a full point behind Iran and top seed India who cornered the last two spots in the semifinals with 12 points. Before the loss to Iran, the woodpushers were doing great with five wins, one draw and two losses. Seeded seventh in the event that attracted 15 countries, the nationals scored wins against 14th seed Nepal (4-0), No. 3 Vietnam (3-1), top seed India (3-1), sixth ranked Uzbekistan (3.5-0.5) and No. 13 Japan (4-0). The team pulled off a 2-2 draw with eighth seed Qatar with their two other losses were against No. 2 China (3-1) and fifth ranked Kazakhstan (2.5-1.5). Antonio, who is set to compete in the World Chess Cup, emerged as the best player for Team Philippines with eight wins and a draw followed by Cua (5-2-2). Perena won five matches and lost four while Paragua won only four times while dropping five games. China emerged as the top team in the elimination round with 17 points and defeated Iran while number two Vietnam (14 points) eliminated India. In the finals, the host team prevailed over China in the first game 2.5-1.5 while the second match ended in at 2-2 draw giving Vietnam the gold medal. Team Philippines tries to rebound as they see action in the rapid team, individual male and female events. – GMANews.TV