THE ATENEO Men’s and Women’s Chess Teams concluded the ninth day of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 Chess Tournament with one draw and one loss. The matches were held yesterday at the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tech Gym in the City of Manila.
It was a rough outing for the Men’s Team as they fell to the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws with a 1-3 scoreline. Board 1 saw Ateneo’s Christopher Kis-Ing edging out FEU’s Hans Ezekiel Olorosisimo to give the Blue and White a 1-0 advantage. Ateneo’s Paul Llanillo, Ricol Calderon, and Paolo Villa then played the next three boards. Despite their valiant efforts, the Blue Eagles eventually surrendered to their Morayta-based counterparts, with all three boards ending in defeat. Following yesterday’s results, the Men’s Team now stands at a 0-1-4 win-draw-loss record, accumulating a total of 5.5 points in the tournament.
Meanwhile, the Women’s Team pick up their second consecutive draw this season after a hard-fought bout against the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Woodpushers, 2-2. This outcome was the opposite in comparison to the first time the Blue Eagles battled against their archrivals DLSU in the first round of the tourney and dominated against them.
Blue Eagle Laila Nadera and Alexis Oseña were both dealt with draws against DLSU’s Samantha Revita and Irish Yngayo, respectively. Ateneo’s Glesit Tatoy put up a hard fight, but ultimately bowed out in her duel against Lady Woodpusher Francois Magpily in the second board. It was Kristine Flores who had success for the Blue Eagles as she defeated DLSU’s Sara Olendo to tie the points up for Ateneo. With day nine coming to a close, the Women’s Team now garnered a total of 15.5 points.
“Ramdam rin namin na talagang naghanda din sila for our match (We felt that they really prepared for our match),” Team Captain Oseña said on their second matchup with DLSU.
Heading into their matchup against Far Eastern University, Oseña points to her coaches’ constant reminder to never stop fighting. “Laban kung laban hanggang dulo, [at] best effort lang palagi (Fight on until the end and always give your best effort),” she shared.
The Ateneo Chess Teams remain in the hunt for more victories on the boards as the Men’s Team will be taking on the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Male Woodpushers, while the Women’s Team will battle out the FEU Lady Tamaraws. Both matches are scheduled at 2 PM on Saturday, December 3, at the FEU Tech Gym.
