MEDAL HUNT. FIDE Master Sander Severino and National Master Henry Roger Lopez (1st and 2nd from left, right side) during the opening of the 1st FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Belgrade, Serbia on Jan. 29, 2023. As of Feb. 3, the Philippines is in a four-way tie for third place with Israel, India and Hungary after five rounds. (Contributed photo)
MANILA – Sixth-ranked Philippines kept its share of third place after a 2-2 draw with second seed Israel in the fifth and penultimate round of the 1st FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities on Friday at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Belgrade, Serbia.
National Master James Infiesto of Davao City held International Master Andrei Gurbanov to a draw after 74 moves of the Vienna Opening on Board 3.
Infiesto's draw and NM Darry Bernardo's victory over Woman FIDE Master Aleksandra Aleksandrova after 28 moves of Stonewall on Board 4 forged the standoff.
Earlier, NM Henry Roger Lopez lost to FIDE Master Alexey Streltsov after 37 moves of London System on Board 2 and the match between FIDE Master Sander Severino and Grandmaster Yehuda Gruenfeld ended in a draw after 70 moves of English Opening on Board 1.
The Philippines and Israel are tied with India and Hungary with 7.0 points.
Meanwhile, No. 1 Poland streaked to its fifth consecutive win at the expense of No. 10 India, 3-1.
International Association of Chess with Physical Disability, the tournament's seventh seed, is in second place with eight points after demolishing No. 5 Cuba, 3.5-0.5.
In other results, Hungary beat Uzbekistan, 2.5-1.5; Croatia clobbered Turkey, 3.5-0.5; Serbia 1 downed Romania, 3.5-0.5; FIDE trounced Bangladesh, 3-1; Czech Republic whipped Serbia 2, 3-1; Venezuela waylaid Montenegro, 3-1; and Zambia prevailed over Panama.
The matches between Kazakhstan and the International Chess Committee of the Deaf, and Germany and Kyrgyzstan both ended in a draw.
The Filipinos will face India’s Kumar Pradhan Soundarya, IM Kutwal Shashikant, Gangolli Kishan and Kumar A. Naveen in the final round on Saturday. (PNA)
