Women players place higher
than men at 37th Chess Olympiad

TURIN, Italy - Their roles have been reversed. It was the Philippine women’s team, not the men’s squad, which placed higher in the 37th Chess Olympiad at the Olympic Village here. The Filipinas finally ran out of gas and bowed to the Slovenians, 2.5-0.5, in the 13th and final round Sunday, but still managed to top Group C, which is confined to teams ranked 42nd to 62nd in the 103-women’s field. With a total of 22 points, the Filipinas wound up 24th, their best since the 1988 Thessaloniki Olympiad where a squad composed of International Master Girme Fontanilla, Metropolitan Chess Club head Mila Emperado and National Master Cristina Santos landed 20th. It was a superb performance for the Filipinas, composed of FIDE Master Sheerie Joy Lomibao, Catherine Perena, Sherily Cua, and International Master Beverly Mendoza, who were ranked just 60th at the start of the biennial meet. The Filipinos, with newly confirmed International Master Oliver Dimakiling yielding to International Master Alexander Hilario Takeda Fier on board 4, bowed to the Brazilians, 2.5-1.5, and wound up 44th among a record 146 squads. Grandmasters Mark Paragua, Eugene Torre, and Rogelio Antonio Jr. failed to gain headway and settled for draws on boards 1, 2 and 3, respectively, leaving the fight to Dimakiling in a queen-pawns ending. The Brazilian, ahead by two pawns, eventually produced a second queen, forcing Dimakiling to resign and throw away the GM norm that should have been his with just a draw. Against 17th seed Slovenia, only Mendoza was able to draw against International Master Jana Krivec. Perena, who earned a WIM result, bowed to Woman Grandmaster Anna Muzychuk while Cua, an Olympiad rookie, lost to Grandmaster Ana Srebrnic. “I’m proud of the girls," said team captain Cesar Caturla. “They did not fear anybody here." The Filipinas made a big leap from their 48th-place finish in the 2004 Calvia Olympiad with the 19-year-old Cua emerging as top scorer with 6.5 points in 11 games. Perena and Mendoza notched 6 points each while Lomibao finished with 3.5 in seven games. The Filipinos, on the other hand, plummeted from 19th place in Calvia, where they rallied by posting 8.5 points in the last three rounds. They managed just 6.5 points this time, absorbing a 3-1 loss from the Dutch in round 11, a 2-2 draw with the Swiss in round 12 and that defeat to the Brazilians. Antonio emerged the men’s team’s best performer with 7 points in 11 games. Armenia took the men’s crown pulling away with 36 points while China snatched second with 34, following a 2.5-1.5 victory over the Netherlands. The United States grabbed third with a 3.5-0.5 rout of Norway. - INQ7.Net