AFTER A tough string of losses last week, the Ateneo Blue and Lady Eagles returned to the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Quadricentennial Pavilion on Saturday, October 6, for the seventh day of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 Chess Tournament, following up on their promise to bounce back. Both squads showed massive improvements against the UST Growling Tigers and the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors, respectively, going 2-2 and 1.5-2.5, to end the first round of the tournament.
Balanced Blue Eagles’ effort forces tie with Growling Tigers
The first board seated Gavin Ong as he faced UST’s Jerlyn Villanueva. The Blue Eagles’ Team Captain admitted that he had no specific strategy heading into the match. Instead, he said that he focused on last week’s frustrations to fuel him as he played his fifth game of the season. The former Xaverian was able to combine his mental strength with veteran savvy, ending his match with a draw that contributed to the Katipunan-based squad’s points column.
Vince Edralin was placed on second board as he matched up with Brylle Vinluan. The rookie was advised to anticipate a Reversed Reti Opening from the opponent, a strategy where both knights are exposed to squares C3 and F3 in the early stages of the match.
Vinluan surprised Edralin by using the Double Fianchetto Opening instead: a more complicated set-up that involves the movement of the King’s Knight to F6, Queen’s Knight to C6, then castling Kingside, respectively. The Growling Tiger followed it up with an aggressive attack to the center of the board that eventually ended the match in a draw after the arbiter’s review. After the match, the freshman said that he plans to work on reviewing his continuation moves for more effective attacks in future games.
Board 3 was given to Tristan Cervero as he went up against the Tigers’ Antonio Almodal. The rookie Eagle struggled in the opening stages of the match due to Almodal pressuring his uncastled King piece almost immediately. Spending most of his time formulating an opening, the talented rookie fell short of a comeback after a clock expiration that put UST ahead in the match series, 1-2.
The final board had Eagles rookie Alexander Santos play Jeffu Dorog in a last-ditch effort at a series tie with the Tigers. Santos, who said that he did not know much about his opponent’s style of play, relied heavily on his polished read-and-react skills for the match. In doing so, the quick-thinking Blue Eagle came out disciplined and moved at his own pace the whole game, eventually edging out Dorog to give Ateneo their second series draw in the UAAP season.
Continuation errors cost Lady Eagles in a tough match against UE
The Lady Eagles mixed it up on the seventh round for a more balanced lineup of experience and young talent. The team opted to feature the promising rookies, Alexis Oseña and Laila Nadera, accompanied by Lady Eagles’ veterans Merlene Membrere and Mine Sandoval.
Oseña was inserted on the first board as she used a Tango Opening against her opponent, Virginie Ruaya. The rookie said she had a shaky start in creating her opening formation but regained footing in the match to keep it even at the endgame, handing a half-point to both squads after the first match set of the series, 0.5-0.5.
For the second board, Membrere started the match with a London Opening, a fairly common strategy for any Black side defense, and followed it up with an aggressive attack Kingside to establish a strong advantage early on in the match against Christina Medenilla. However, the Lady Eagles rookie committed an error in her continuation, failing to castle her own King, giving Medenilla an opening that she used to turn the tables and win the match for UE. The Lady Warriors led by a full point, .5-1.5, after the match.
Third board honors were given to Nadera as she competed against Kimberly Chu for the first time this season. Since she was on the black side, the rookie focused on keeping it even with Chu by using a Sicilian Grand Prix formation. The patient Nadera stuck with her gameplan until the end of the match, and to her own surprise, continued to win the match to tie with the Lady Warriors, 1.5-1.5.
The final board had the experienced Sandoval in a tiebreaker game as she faced off with the Warriors’ Regyne Palaming. Trying out a new strategy, the veteran opened the match by establishing her improved line of the London System to go against the King’s Indian Defense by her opponent. Sandoval continued the match by picking her spots well to hold a substantial lead over UE midway through the game. The intense battle between Sandoval and Palabino eventually led to a time situation for both teams, forcing Sandoval to commit an error in the closing seconds of the match that would credit UE with a full point. This meant the Lady Eagles fell just short of a draw to the Lady Warriors, 1.5-2.5.
The Ateneo Chess Team will have another chance to continue their improved level of play as they start the second round of UAAP Chess on Sunday, October 7, at the same venue, against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons and the Adamson University (AdU) Lady Falcons, respectively.
