Wesley So leads RP team in World Under-16 Chess Olympiad

The Philippines made its presence felt in the 2007 World Under-16 Chess Olympiad by racking up three straight victories in as many rounds at the ASEAN Chess Academy in Singapore Monday. Bannered by GM-candidate Wesley So and Haridas Pascua, the Filipinos opened their campaign with a decisive 3-1 win over Switzerland in the first round, then followed it up with a 2.5-.1.5 triumph over England and 4-0 victory over Sri Lanka, according to a team statement issued on Tuesday. Overall, the Filipinos are tied for third to fifth places with Hungary and Iran with 9.5 points. Uzbekistan and India share the lead with 10 points out of a possible 12. So, only aged 13 and already the country's fourth highest-rated player, won over Marco Lehmann of Switzerland, Ankush Khandelwal of England, and R.M. Rajapakhsa of Sri Lanka to lead the Filipinos' campaign in this tough, 10-round tournament organized by the Singapore Chess Federation. Equally impressive was the Mangatarem, Pangasinan-based Pascua, who matched So's perfect record with victories over Jonathan Rosnethal of Switzerland, Subin Sen of England, and H.L. Rapuachchi of Sri Lanka on board three. Karl Victor Ochoa, playing second board, subdued Kambez Nuri of Switzerland and Rashin de Silva of Sri Lanka and drew with Callum Kilpatrick of England. The Filipinos' board four player, Franz Robert Grafil, lost his first two matches against Nicolas Duport of Switzerland and Amisha Parmar of England but won over Sahan Sachintha of Sri Lanka. Up next for the Philippines is Hungary. Uzbekistan, led by Jamshid and Khurshed Mustafaev, humbled Australia (4-0), Sri Lanka (3-1), and Turkey (3-1) to grab a share of the lead with India. The Indians also started strong, beating United States (4-0) and Israel (4-0) and drawing with Indonesia (2-2). The tournament ends on August 11. The Filipinos' campaign is supported by National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), which is headed by former Surigao del Sur representative Prospero "Butch" Pichay, Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino, and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) under chairman William Ramirez. The head of the delegation is Red Dumuk. Standings 10 pts: Uzbekistan, India 9.5 pts: Philippines , Hungary, Iran 8.5 pts: Vietnam, Australia 8 pts: Switzerland 7.5 pts: Singapore-1, Turkey , Singapore-2 7 pts: England, Japan, Australia-2 6.5 pts: Indonesia, Chinese-Taipei, Malaysia 6 pts: Iceland, Australia-3, Zambia, Singapore-3, South Africa

- GMANews.TV