PLAYING IN their first tournament since the imposition of quarantine, the Ateneo de Manila Chess Team emerged as the overall champions in the first Jesuit Athletic Meet (JAM) Online Chess Team Tournament on February 20 to 21. The two-day tournament, which featured chess teams from Jesuit schools all over the country, was held via Zoom and lichess.org.

The first day of the JAM saw the Blue Eagles go head-to-head with three other schools for Blitz chess matches. Each player was given three minutes on their clocks per game, with two seconds added to the players’ clocks for every move they made. The teams then play as many games as they can with players from the opposing team within 45 minutes, with a win counting as two points, a draw giving one point, and a loss garnering zero points.

In the first round of the blitz games, the Blue Eagles faced the host school Ateneo de Zamboanga University (ADZU). Alexis Anne Oseña topped all players with five wins while Lynus Kho, Women’s Team Captain Merlene Membrere, and Tristan Jared Cervero each came out with four wins. The Blue Eagles handily won the matchup, 47-7.

Coming off a lopsided win, the Blue Eagles faced Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU) in the second round. Throughout the matchup, Cervero impressed with six wins in the round, with Kho following closely behind with five wins of her own, to lead the Blue Eagles to a 51-9 victory. In the final round of the Blitz tournament, the Blue Eagles proved superior against Xavier University (XU) as they capped off day one with a 45-9 victory.

In day two, the four teams faced off in three rounds of 15-minute Rapid chess games. The first round had the Blue Eagles squaring off against ADDU once again. Membrere and Oseña both knocked off their opponents with two quick checkmates while Kho forced an opponent resignation to give the team a six-point advantage. Cervero then won his game via timeout to secure the round for the Blue Eagles, 8-4.

The Blue Eagles had a tough matchup against XU in the second round. Although Laila Nadera was forced to resign in her game, Membrere and Kristine Flores drew first blood with two forced checkmates. Meanwhile, Men’s Team Captain Jeeves De Veyra and Oseña managed to run out their opponents’ clocks while Cervero settled for a draw. The Blue Eagles ended the round with a score of 9-3.

Just one win away from the championship, the Blue Eagles played against ADZU in the final round. Building on her previous performances, Flores garnered a win via resignation after grabbing both of the enemy’s rooks while Cervero forced a checkmate with less than four minutes shaved off his clock. With five wins and one loss in the final round, the Blue Eagles sealed the championship with a spotless record 6-0 tournament record.

After their impressive win, Membrere expressed her gratitude to the organizers of the JAM for giving her and the team an opportunity to compete amid the pandemic. 

“Given that the UAAP was cancelled, we really had no chance to play as a team and represent Ateneo. Especially now that I’m on my last [semester] in Ateneo, I haven’t had the chance to play my last season due to the UAAP cancellation, and it’s just months away before I say my goodbyes to the team. I am just cherishing these moments, and giving my best shot to help the team score more points in the tournament,” Membrere shared.

With sporting competitions struggling to adjust to the pandemic, the Ateneo de Manila Chess Team celebrated their rare experience of normalcy with a resounding championship.

Ateneo Blue Eagles Lineup:

Tristan Jared Cervero

Kristine Flores

Lynus Kho

Merlene Membrere

Laila Nadera

Alexis Anne Oseña

Jeeves De Veyra

Round Scores:

Day 1 (Blitz): 3-0

Day 2 (Rapid): 3-0

Match Scores:

Day 1

Ateneo-ADZU: 47-7

Ateneo-ADDU: 51-9

Ateneo-XU: 45-9

Day 2

Ateneo-ADDU: 8-4

Ateneo-XU: 9-3

Ateneo-ADZU: 10-2