Filipinos finish fifth at Chess Olympiad

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines missed out on replicating its bronze medal finish the first time after ending up fifth in the 2nd FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities at the Paralympic Center in Astana, Kazakhstan over the weekend.

The Filipinos smashed the Uzbeks, 3-1, on draws by Sander Severino and Jasper Rom on the top boards and victories by Darry Bernardo and Cheyzer Mendoza on the lower boards in the sixth and final round to end up tied for third with Israel and the International Braille Chess Association with nine match points each.

It also raised hopes for the country, composed also by Henry Lopez and coach James Infiesto, seeking to duplicate its bronze finish in the inaugural staging of the event in Belgrade, Serbia four years ago.

But it wasn’t meant to be though as the gutsy group lost on tiebreak to the Israelis with IBCA winding up fourth and the former fifth in this week-long, 26-country meet.

“The field is stronger this time compared to the first one,” said Mendoza, a lawyer who was later rewarded with the best game of the tournament. “We actually won some big games but we fell short in the end. We’ll bounce back next time.”

The nation beat Croatia, Venezuela, Kazakhstan 3 and Uzbekistan, drew with Israel and suffered its only loss of the tournament — a heartbreaking 2.5-1.5 defeat to the Czech Republic in the third round that stymied its medal bid.