THE PHILIPPINES overpowered Angola, 3.5-.5, with Mhage Sebastian leading the way with a smashing board one victory over Woman FIDE Master (WFM) Jemima Paulo and regained lost footing after the sixth round of the 46th World Chess Olympiad at the Silk Road International Exhibition Centre in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on Monday night.
Trusted into the limelight as the team’s top board player despite being an Olympiad rookie, Ms. Sebastian has delivered and, in fact, has scored a solid 3.5 points on three wins, a draw and a single defeat.
Also coming through were Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna and WFM Shania Mae Mendoza on boards two and four, respectively, while Woman International Master (WIM) Ruelle Canino drew with WIM Esperanca Caxita on board three to complete the one-sided win.
That propelled the Filipinas, whose trip in Samarkand is being bankrolled by the Philippine Sports Commission, into a 30-nation tie for 28th spot with eight match points each.
The Filipinos were equally impressive in their 3.5-.5 rout of the Yemenis to zoom to a 30-nation logjam for No. 29, also with eight match points.
They, like everyone else, got a much-deserved respite on Tuesday and should come into Wednesday’s seventh round reenergized against Argentina in the men’s and Kyrgyzstan in the women’s where they seek nothing but a victory. A win, of course, would send them back into the top 20 and closer to a potential top 10 finish where they would receive a P1-million incentive from delegation head and Misamis Occidental Governor Henry S. Oaminal, Sr. — Joey Villar
