THE ATENEO Chess Teams secured crucial victories as the final round of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 86 Chess Tournament closes in. Both contests took place earlier this afternoon at the Far Eastern University (FEU) Technology Building in the City of Manila.
To guarantee a second-place finish, the Men’s Team cornered the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 2 (2.5) – 0 (1.5). Meanwhile, the Women’s Team prevailed over the defending champions National University (NU) Lady Woodpushers, 2 (3) – 0 (1), maintaining their run in the standings.
Men’s Chess vs UP
The Ateneo Men’s Chess Team’s match versus the Fighting Maroons could be described as a success despite some hiccups in between.
Board 1 began with a stalemate between Blue Eagle Paul Matthew Llanillo and Fighting Maroon Stephen Pangilinan with their game going down to the wire. While for Board 2, Ateneo’s Jasper Faeldonia caught Cyrus Francisco by surprise with a series of breathtaking moves to conquer his Fighting Maroon opponent.
Demonstrating a similar brilliance, Team Captain Christopher Kis-ing outpaced UP’s Melson Gallo on Board 3 for the win. On the other hand, in a heartbreaker, Tristan Cervero falters against Michael Olladas’s usage of the knight piece in the end-game stage. The results in total ushered the way for a Blue Eagles victory, 2 (2.5) – 0 (1.5), over their Katipunan counterparts.
Women’s Chess vs NU
Conversely, the Ateneo Women’s Chess Team showed an even more dominating performance. Board 1 had Ateneo’s Jiesel Marino taking a commanding position with her knight and queen to eventually surround her NU opponent’s king. On Board 2, the 1675 FIDE Elo Elayza Villa displayed her shrewd and crafty decision-making by utilizing her queen to exhaust all of NU’s Princess Ballete’s options.
Meanwhile, on Board 3, Ateneo skipper Kristine Flores triumphed over UP’s Jesca Docena to score a point for the Loyola Heights-based squad. Finally, on Board 4, Alphecca Gonzales was taken care of by Natasja Balabbo. In spite of the three wins secured, the table was on the side of the Blue Eagles, 2 (3) – 0 (1).
Tomorrow, for the final round of the tournament, the Ateneo Men’s Chess Team aims to end the season with a win as they go against current last placers, Adamson University (AdU) Male Woodpushers. Concurrently, the Ateneo Women’s Team will engage in a battle of wits with the UP Fighting Maroons Women squad. Both matches will happen at 1:00 PM, in the same venue.
Men’s standings
- UST 16.0 [27]
- Ateneo 14.0 [21]
- FEU 9.0 [19]
- UP 9.0 [18.5]
- DLSU 5.0 [16]
- AdU 1.0 [6.5]
Women’s standings
- FEU 21.0 [31.5]
- NU 17.0 [25.5]
- Ateneo 16.0 [27]
- DLSU 12.0 [21]
- UP 12.0 [20]
- UST 8.0 [15.5]
- AdU 6.0 [15.5]
