THE ATENEO Men’s Chess team were held to a 2-2 draw against the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons in the first match of the second round of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 82 Men’s Chess Tournament on Sunday, October 6, at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Quadricentennial Pavilion, Manila City.

Ateneo now holds a record of 2-3-3 and sit in 7th place with a total of 13.5 points in the UAAP Season 82 Men’s Chess standings as they continue to fight to break into the top three.

Ateneo’s lineup featured rookie Kurt Ong situated at board one, coming in for Vince Edralin from the previous match. Tristan Cervero, Team Captain Gavin Ong, and Alex Santos took up boards two, three, and four, respectively, retaining their spots from the last round.

Despite their valiant efforts, both Kurt Ong and Gavin Ong struggled against their AdU counterparts and stumbled to losses. On the other hand, Santos and Cervero were able to secure a pair of wins for their team and to salvage the draw.

Speaking after the match, Team Captain Gavin Ong remained positive about his team’s performance and hopes to end the season strong. “I like how my team is doing. We’re on the right track, and we still got a good shot for a podium finish,” he said.

After losing 3-1 to AdU in the first round of matches, the Blue Eagles will see this draw as a slight improvement, but will hope for better performances in the upcoming fixtures as the second round of matches presents them with more opportunities to pick up points and increase their overall standing.