THE ATENEO Men’s and Women’s Chess teams competed in the fourth round of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 Chess tournament on Sunday, February 25.
The Blue Eagles faced De La Salle University (DLSU), while the Lady Eagles took on Adamson University (AdU), at the Quadricentennial Pavilion in the University of Santo Tomas (UST).
Lady Eagles
The Lady Eagles managed to sneak in a win despite dropping the team-tie, as the day ended at a 1-3 score. Despite the unfavorable outcomes that befell the Ateneo Women’s Chess team in the past four rounds, the Lady Eagles finally managed to scrape a point to tally their first of the season with a score of one.
On board one for Ateneo, Ana De Duque took on AdU’s Lindsay Novabos. However, De Duque did not find the result she was looking for as she was taken down by Novabos.
Aryanne De Ocampo took her shot on board two, where she was defeated by Lady Falcon Crissa Cañada. Board three featured team captain Jasmine Principe against Abigail Tamundong. Unfortunately, Principe was bested by Tamundong, as AdU took the score to a three-point deficit.
The Lady Eagles’ final stand was led by Jill Feliciano, who took on Charisse Zafe. Feliciano overcame her foe and ended the round, adding a point to the Lady Eagles’ season score.
“Kasi kahit naka-one win kami today, ‘di namin na-reach ang goal namin. Pero malapit na, kaunting push nalang. Bawi kami next week (Even though we won one match today, we haven’t reached our goal. But we’re near, just a little more push. We’ll get it next week),” said Principe.
Blue Eagles
After a devastating 0-4 loss to UST on Day 3, the Blue Eagles came into Day 4 hoping to defeat their DLSU rivals. However, the round ended with a 1-3 score in favor of DLSU.
On board one, Lance Ting played his first match this season against National Master Giovanni Mejia. Ting, however, was defeated by Mejia, handing DLSU a 0-1 lead.
Boards two and four featured Blue Eagles Keefe Tan and Jolo Lat as they faced Christian Nañola and Jeazzir Surposa, respectively. Tan and Lat failed to pick up a win in their matches, which brought the DLSU lead to 0-3.
Ateneo’s last hope and top-scorer, Renzo Marquez, went head-to-head with Denzel Amar on board three. Marquez managed to overcome his opponent in a gruelling battle, bringing their score to 1-3 and the overall season score of the Blue and White to four.
“I think [the past few rounds] had a positive result. At this point last year, we were kind of demoralized—we have a higher score this year,” shared Marquez. “There is still a lot of morale. I’m graduating and Jolo is graduating, but I know that the future is bright based on the performance today.”
The Blue and Lady Eagles’ next game day is scheduled on Saturday, March 3, in UST. The Blue Eagles will face AdU while the Lady Eagles will take on the University of the East (UE).
