THE ATENEO Blue and Lady Eagles competed in the fifth and sixth round of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Chess tournament from February 20 to 21 at the Henry Sy Sr. Hall in De La Salle University (DLSU), Manila.
A drop in confidence
The Women’s team lost in the fifth round to the University of the Philippines (UP) after another 0-4 score, but slightly improved their record to 0.5-3.5 after their sixth round matchup against the University of the East.
Team Captain Bren Membrere said that one of her main difficulties was the limited time they had for the game. “We will need to study more openings [and] strategy, solve some problems, and of course, study our opponents’ moves,” she said. “Even though we study hard, in the actual games, it’s not that easy.” Membrere explained that there are simply some moves that cannot always be anticipated beforehand.
Lady Eagle Gabrielle Ablang added that going into the sixth round, the team had changed their strategy after their losses in the previous weeks. However, the game itself was not what they were expecting. “We had a last-minute training this morning. It was basically following that strategy, and then we got surprised with this lineup,” she said. “We just want to have fun with it nalang–give our best.”
Surging Eagles
On a more positive note, the Blue Eagles ended the fifth round with a 2.5-1.5 win against UP, and drew 2-all in their sixth round matchup against the defending champions, DLSU.
Blue Eagle Jolo Lat was positive about his team’s win against UP, but mentioned that they are not yet content and still hope to get much higher scores. Lat, who has drawn several of his games this season, stated that the time period has also been a struggle for him.
“Some draws are agreed on and there’s nothing we can do about it,” he said. “Pero like for my previous game, I had a chance to win it. I was pressed for time, and I wanted to stay safe.”
Team Captain Jem Garcia said that his players are feeling more confident after the sixth round. “Suwerte lang talaga (We got lucky),” he said. Their overall record for the season now stands at two wins, two losses, and two draws.
The seventh round of the tournament will be at 1:00PM, Thursday, February 25 at the Henry Sy Sr. Hall in DLSU, Manila, where the Blue Eagles will face the Adamson University Falcons, while the Lady Eagles take on the National University Lady Bulldogs.
