BAGUIO CITY – Team Philippines took the early solo lead in the Asian Nationals Online Chess Cup 2020 that started on Saturday (Oct. 10).
After three rounds, the Filipino wood-pushers have 11 points with boards two and three as Grandmaster (GM) Rogelio Barcenilla and International Master (IM) Paolo Bersamina get perfect scores.
Top board GM Mark Paragua and board four GM John Paul Gomez had two wins and a draw for 2.5 points.
The fourth-ranked Philippines carries a half-point lead over Mongolia which is ranked ninth and Kazakhstan with 10.5 points on the second rank.
Three teams occupy the fourth to sixth spot with 10 points each led by third-ranked Iran, followed by another Southeast Asia nation -- Indonesia on the eighth, and top-ranked India.
Bangladesh is at solo seventh with 9.5, followed by Australia with 8.5 points.
Two teams with identical 7.5 points occupy the ninth and tenth spots -- Sri Lanka and Singapore.
GM-elect Haridas Pascua of Baguio is the country’s fifth man in the 38 nation competition where India is the top rank in the absence of China and Vietnam.
Paragua who holds an Elo rating 2573 will be at the top board of the GM Eugene Torre-captained squad with Barcenilla (2463), IM Paolo Bersamina (2286), and GM John Paul Gomez (2470) on boards 2-4.
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess.
“I am ready for the tournament,” Pascua told the Philippine News Agency through Facebook message.
He said the PH squad aims for the top three spots.
“Target po namin at least top three and tingin ko kaya naman po yan (We are targeting a top three (finish) and I see that we can do it),” he added.
The women’s squad under GM Jayson Gonzales has Woman GM Janelle Mae Frayna, WIM Jan Jodilyn Fronda, Woman FIDE (Federation International des Echecs) Shania Mae Mendoza, WIM Bernadette Galas, and WIM Kylen Joy Mordido who are currently at fifth spot.
The seventh-ranked Filipinas have 9.5 points along with fourth-ranked Australia and eighth-ranked Mongolia.
Third-ranked Kazakhstan is almost perfect with 11.5 points, half a point ahead of fifth-ranked Vietnam. The sixth and second ranks Iran and Indonesia, respectively, are at the third and fourth spots with nine points. (PNA)
