APPROACHING THE halfway point of their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 Chess campaign, the Ateneo Blue and Lady Eagles returned to the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Quadricentennial Pavilion for the fifth time on Saturday, September 29, to add to their win column as they were challenged by the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws.
The 7th-seeded Eagles fielded a different lineup on Saturday, exchanging the experienced Gavin Ong and Keefe Tan with promising rookies Josh Dy and Vince Edralin to prevent a sweep, claiming a 1-3 record for the round, against the top-seeded Tamaraws.
The first-board responsibility was handed to Dy as he faced International Master (IM) John Miciano. Expecting a King’s Pawn Opening, a move where the pawn in front of the King piece is moved to space E4, Dy was prepared to respond in two ways: defending with either the Open or Closed Sicilian method, a popular defense for the King’s Pawn Opening where the pawn in front of the right bishop is moved to C5.
To Dy’s surprise, Miciano opened with the Queen’s Pawn instead, forcing the rookie to make an entirely new plan on the spot. The rookie fought hard to keep it a close game. However, a continuation error mid-game cost Dy as he fell to FEU on the first board. After the game, Dy said that he will focus on formulating mid-game strategies in training to prevent this scenario from happening again.
Edralin, the second rookie of the Blue Eagles’ lineup, was placed on the second board as he went against FEU’s Jeth Morado. Intending to keep things even with Morado, the rookie played well enough to find himself a step ahead in the early stages of the match. Despite the impressive calculations by the rookie, however, Morado answered back and salvaged a draw to end the match. Claiming Ateneo’s first points of the day, Edralin owed this result to his objectivity and confidence—things that he wishes to carry with him for the rest of the season.
Tristan Cervero started once again for the Blue and White as he sat on the third board, going against John Laxamana. Excited to face off with his old teammates, the former Tamaraw prepared his line for a King’s Pawn Opening in anticipation of an Italian Opening by Laxamana. Similar to the first board, FEU went a different route, playing the Bishop’s Opening to start the game. Cervero was unfazed and adjusted enough to score another draw for the Katipunan-based side, bringing up their total score to 1-2 for the fifth matchday.
The fourth board seated Alexander Santos for the second match in a row as he matched up with Romy Fagon for the last game. Focusing to attack the King piece once again, Santos decided to pawnstorm to pressure his opponent. The rookie said that his strategy went well, but admits an error was committed on the continuation that cancelled his own attack. Santos lost the final board, failing to close a tie with the Green and Yellow.
