Colombia forces draw with RP chess players in fourth round

TURIN, Italy - In 24 hours, their brilliant forms vanished. Pitted against lower-rated foes, Grandmasters Mark Paragua, Eugene Torre, and Rogelio Antonio failed to find winning lines Thursday as the Philippines settled for a 2-2 tie with Colombia in the fourth round of the 37th Chess Olympiad at the Olympic Village here. Their tame performances were in stark contrast to the Filipinos’ impressive fighting draws against American super GMs Gata Kamsky, Alexander Onischuk and Hikaru Nakamura in round 3. Whiz kid Wesley So found fellow Fide Master Rafael Mendoza a worthy adversary on board 4 and also agreed to split the point, enabling the Colombians to improve on the 2.5-1.5 beating dealt them by the Filipinos in the 2004 Calvia Olympiad. The 12-year-old So, an incoming high school freshman at St. Francis-Bacoor, accepted Mendoza’s draw offer in 28 moves of a Bishop opening. The Filipinas, on the other hand, continued their roller-coaster ride, bowing to Kazahkstan, 2.5-0.5, and dropping to a share of 47th to 60th places with 6.5 points. Handling black, Paragua first rejected International Master Alexander Curatas’s draw offer only to accept it after 52 moves of their Sicilian-Nadjorf variation tussle. Even with white, Torre couldn’t gain ground against IM Alder Escobar and agreed to a draw after 32 moves of a Slav defense. Antonio, on the other hand, had to fend off FM Sergio Barrientos’s attack before they drew in 32 moves of a French-Winawer variation. Their second draw gave the Filipinos, 9.5 points, good for a share of 45th to 57th places in the record men’s field of 146 teams being lorded over by the Russians and the Armenians with 13.5 points each. In round 2, 35th-seeded Philippines also drew with Luxembourg after blanking Mauritius, 4-0, in round 1. The Filipinos then yielded to the Americans, 2.5-1.5. In round 5 on Thursday the Filipinos will tangle with the dangerous Lithuanians, who are ranked 39th. Aware of their foes’ strength, men’s team captain Sammy Estimo decided to deploy his full force, returning Paragua, Torre and Antonio and recalling two-time national champion Darwin Laylo on board 4. Paragua will face GM Eduardas Rozentalis, Torre will meet GM Vidmantas Malisauskas while Antonio will tackle IM Darius Zagorskis. “The Lithuanians are a veteran team and are strong on all boards," said Estimo. “We can’t afford to take chances." The Filipinas get the chance to improve on their standing when they tangle with Italy B, rated 70th. Women’s team captain Cesar Caturla opted to rest WIM Sheerie Joy Lomibao, fielding in Catherine Perena, Sherily Cua and WIM Beverly Mendoza in that order. Perena will tackle Maria Teresa Araneta, Cua will battle Veronka Goi and Mendoza will tangle with Marianna Chierici. Apart from the Russia-Armenia tussle, the India-China showdown will be another featured match of round 5. The 13-round Swiss system biennial event takes a break Friday. STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 4 Men: 13.5 -- Russia, Armenia; 13 -- Netherlands; 12.5 -- Uzbekistan; 12 -- Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, Bulgaria; 11.5 -- India, China, Georgia, United States; 11 -- Greece, Argentina, Romania, Iceland, Vietnam, Iran, Israel, Denmark, Czech Republic, Croatia, Brazil, Cuba; 10.5 -- Mexico, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Turkey, Slovakia, Belarus; 10 -- Colombia, Serbia & Montenegro, Belgium, Scotland, Egypt, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Poland, Italy A, Macedonia, France, Slovenia, Algeria; 9.5 -- Kazakhstan, England, Finland, Norway, Ireland, Chile, Portugal, Canada, Philippines, Lithuania, Estonia, Turkmenistan Women: 11.5 -- Russia; 10 -- Ukraine; 9.5 -- Bulgaria, United States, China; 9 -- Hungary, Estonia, Romania, Lithuania, Spain; 8.5 -- Israel, Mongolia, Vietnam, Slovakia, Armenia, Greece, India . . . 6.5 -- Philippines, Macedonia, Croatia, England, and 15 other teams. - INQ7.Net