Barcenilla officially withdraws; Gonzales fills void

LONDON—A flip-flop withdrawal by Grandmaster Rogelio Barcenilla further hampered Team Philippines’ chances in the Open division of the 41st Chess Olympiad which held its opening ceremonies Friday in Tromso, Norway.

Despite Barcenilla’s absence, however, the Filipinos who arrived in Northern Norway’s largest city Wednesday evening, remain upbeat on carrying the fight on the checkered board with dignity and honor.

Barcenilla, who on Tuesday told the National Chess Federation of the Philippines that he had a change of heart and will be proceeding to the Olympiad despite terrorist threats, informed fellow GM and NCFP executive director Jayson Gonzales with finality on Thursday that he’s backing out because his family fears for his safety.

Sans Barcenilla and with the earlier withdrawal of GM Oliver Barbosa, allegedly due to difficulty in securing a Schengen visa in the US, Gonzales, the coach of the national women’s team, will be forced to play despite being inactive in official tournaments the past few years.

The Open campaigners will thus be composed of Grandmasters Julio Catalino Sadorra, John Paul Gomez, Eugene Torre, Gonzales and International Master Paulo Bersamina.

Sadorra, who hooked up with the team in Tromso, Gomez and Torre will play the top three boards while the 16-year-old Bersamina will man board 4 to gain more international exposure.

Composing the Women’s team, described as capable of pulling off surprises, are Woman International Masters Chardine Cheradee Camacho, Janelle Mae Frayna, Catherine Pereña, Woman Fide Master Jan Jodilyn Fronda and Woman National Master Christy Lamiel Bernales.

Camacho will re-assume top board, followed by Frayna and Fronda, who both have woman Grandmaster norms, while Perena, board 1 in the 2012 Istanbul Olympiad, will slide to board 4.

Torre, Asia’s first GM who’s seeing action in the biennial Olympiad a record 22 times, informed the Inquirer that they did a lot of brisk walking Friday to familiarize themselves with the place and shake off jet lag.

Gonzales, whose last Olympiad stint was in the 2008 edition in Dresden, Germany, then submitted the lineups for the first round of the Open and Women divisions on Saturday.

With these developments, NCFP head Prospero “Butch” Pichay has lowered his projections from a top 20 to a top 30 finish for the Open squad.

Pichay, who earlier heaped praises on US-based Sadorra, Camacho and even Barcenilla for showing their patriotism by playing for their home country, said he’s certain that the present batch of Olympians are all fighters and will rise to the challenge.

Team Philippines, which placed 21st among 157 teams in the Open category in Istanbul, was supposed to parade its strongest lineup yet this year with Super GM Wesley So at the helm. The Women’s team, on the other hand, landed 43rd out of 127 countries.

So, an athletic scholar at US NCAA Division I champion Webster University in Missouri, however, decided to transfer to the US Chess Federation, where he’ll serve as one of the coaches for the Olympiad that lured a record 180 nations, including Open champion Armenia and Women’s titlist Russia.