THE ATENEO Blue Eagles closed out an eventful fourth day in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 84 Chess Tournament with a sweep loss for the Men’s Team and a much-awaited victory for the Women’s Team on June 8 at the Far Eastern University (FEU) Gym in Manila City.

The Ateneo Men’s Chess Team had no answers against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons in a 0-4 sweep, as Ateneo fell to a 0-0-5 win-draw-loss standing. On the other hand, the Women’s Chess Team produced a better outing by snagging their first win in a dramatic showdown against the FEU Lady Tamaraws, 2.5-1.5, after falling short to the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs, 1.5-2.5, earlier that day.

The Men’s Team saw no movement in the tourney’s standings, as they remained in the last position after getting outmatched in all five of their elimination round matches to date. Ateneo’s Vince Edralin, Alexander Santos, Jaime De Veyra, and Paolo Villa graced the first, second, third, and fourth boards, respectively for the Men’s Team—all routed by their fourth-seeded Diliman counterparts. The lopsided defeat marked the third consecutive game in which the Blue Eagles suffered a sweep, after succumbing to the University of Santo Tomas and De La Salle University last June 5.

Despite the disappointing outcome for the Men’s Team, the Women’s Team managed to improve in the standings, moving up the tournament ladder with a 1-2-2 win-draw-loss slate after five hotly-contested games.

In the Blue Eagles’ hard-fought loss against the Lady Bulldogs, 21-year-old Alexis Oseña set an early but winning tone by besting NU’s Princess Ballete in the first board. Oseña’s impressive output for Ateneo was followed by two consecutive losses as her teammates Glesit Tatoy and Laila Nadera were overwhelmed in their individual matchups. Kristine Flores rounded up the Blue and White’s match after settling for a stalemate against Jesca Docena, resulting in a one-point loss.

Looking to halt a two-game losing streak, the Women’s Team utilized the same aforementioned quartet for the day’s final game against the Lady Tamaraws. The two teams’ rough tussle in the first three boards resulted in three stalemates. In the fourth and deciding board, the rookie Flores helped the Blue Eagles seize a long-coveted first win as she outshined FEU’s Regyne Palaming to close out a thriller of a match.

The Ateneo Men’s Chess Team (0-0-5) hopes to start off a more fruitful second round in their sixth matchup on Friday, June 10, at the FEU Gym. 

On the same day, the Ateneo Women’s Chess Team (1-2-2) looks to build on their newfound momentum as they aim to defeat the winless University of Santo Tomas Lady Tigresses (0-0-5) at 2:00 PM.