Men’s team standings after four rounds:
8.0—Germany, Russia;
7.0—Armenia, Hungary, Norway, Azerbaijan, England, Ukraine, Netherlands;
6.0—India, Poland, China, Vietnam, Israel, Spain, Slovenia, Lithuania, Serbia, Sweden, Slovakia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, France, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Denmark, Cuba, Scotland, Costa Rica, Austria, Italy;
5.0—Philippines, Finland, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Germany 2, Greece, Iran, Colombia, Iceland, Brazil, US, Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Argentina, Latvia, Moldova, Paraguay, Montenegro.
DRESDEN, GERMANY—Rookie John Paul Gomez produced a brilliant win and Wesley So held his own on the top board with a draw as the Philippines salvaged a fighting 2-2 draw with Top 20-ranked Greece Sunday in the fourth round of the 38th World Chess Olympiad at the International Congress Center here.
Darwin Daylo came up with the other draw after missing a winning move in the 44th as the Filipinos improved to five points out of a possible eight under the new team scoring format for this 11-round Swiss tournament.
Gomez, a 22-year-old mechanical engineering student from De La Salle University who topped the national qualifying for this event last July, secured his second straight victory on board 3 with a 55-move win over Grandmaster Stelios Halkias in an English Opening.
The lone international master in the RP team, Gomez became the most successful Filipino here so far with three points in four games.
So, the world’s youngest Grandmaster at 15, proved his worth as board 1 reliever for the resting Bong Villamayor with a 15-move draw with GM Ioannis Papaioannu, while Daylo settled for a split on board 4 with Dimitrios Mastravosilis in 55 moves of another Slav.
The result was a cause for joy for the 38th-ranked Filipinos, who bucked a second loss in three matches by GM Jayson Gonzales on board 2 as he succumbed to GM Vasilios Kotroninias.
Now they hope for a big performance Monday against GM Ehsan Ghaemmaghami-led Iran, a 4-0 winner over Nicaragua.
The young national women’s team floundered, however, 0.5-3.5 to No. 26 seed Belarus.
Cheradee Chardine Camacho saved the day for the Cesar Caturla-mentored Filipinas when she drew with WIM Tatiana Berlin.
Catherine Pereña, Shercila Cua and Christy Lamiel Bernales all dropped their matches, leaving the Filipinas with only three points out of a possible eight.
Pereña, the only remaining member of the 2006 Olympiad team to Turin, Italy, lost for the third time in four rounds when she bowed to WGM Anna Sharevich (ELO 2322) on the top board.
Cua, a mainstay of University of Santo Tomas, bowed to WGM Natalija Popova (ELO 2264) and Bernales, a member of the RP team to the World Youth Chess Championship in Vung Tau, Vietnam, fell to WFM Elena Klimets (ELO 2129).
The Filipinas will now play against New Zealand, which battled the Dominican Republic to a 2-2 draw.
Other men’s results: Russia d. India, 2.5-1.5; Azerbaijan d. United States, 3-1; Hungary d. Romania, 3-1; China d. Macedonia, 4-0; Bosnia d. Ireland, 3.5-0.5; Lithuania d. El Salvador, 4-0; Italy d. Switzerland, 2.5-1.5; Serbia d. Ecuador, 3.5-.5; Georgia d. Portugal, 3.5-.5; Slovakia d. Malaysia, 3.5-0.5; Israel d. Egypt, 2.5-1.5; Denmark d. Bangladesh, 2.5-1.5; and Vietnam d. Japan, 3.5-0.5.
Other women’s results: Russia d. Indonesia, 4-0; China d. Armenia, 3.5-0.5; India d. Germany-1, 3-1; Czech Republic d. Mexico, 2.5-1.5; Cuba d. Denmark, 4-0.
