PH chessers seek big finish

TROMSO, Norway—The finish line of the 41st Chess Olympiad is in sight and Team Philippines is going for it at full throttle.

Whether the Filipinos will wind up in a blaze of glory or limping in agony will depend on how they will fare against their final rivals here Thursday.

The men’s team is pitted against favored Canada in the Open section while the women’s squad is matched against lower-rated Belgium in the distaff side.

They both need to win, especially the men’s team which is trying to hurdle the obstacles that block its path even before its departure for this serene northern Arctic city.

Without its brightest star and another dependable player, the team composed of Grandmasters Julio Catalino Sadorra, John Paul Gomez, Eugene Torre and Jayson Gonzales and International Master Paulo Bersamina still has a chance to match its output in the 2012 Istanbul Olympiad.

The women’s squad, made up of Woman International Masters Chardine Chradee Camacho, Janelle Mae Frayna, Jan Jodilyn Fronda and Catherine Perena and Christy Lamiel Bernales, is on track of surpassing its performance in Istanbul.

Still, focus will be on the underdog Filipinos, seeded 52nd among 177 entries in the Open section, squaring off against the 37th-ranked Canadians.

The United States-based Sadorra, taking over the top board vacated by world No. 12 Wesley So, will face higher-rated GM Anton Kovalyov with the white pieces while Gomez, who climbed to board 2 in lieu of the sudden withdrawal of GM Oliver GM Barbosa, will meet GM Eric Hansen with black.

Opting for experience over youth, the National Chess Federation of the Philippines hierarchy has decided to field in the 62-year-old Torre, the Olympiad record holder with 22 stints as a player, over 16-year-old first timer Bersamina, who proved he deserved the slot accorded to qualifiers.

Torre, rejuvenated by a three-day respite, will handle white against IM Leonid Gerzhov in board 3 while Gonzales, the team captain reluctantly playing and piling the points in board 4, will tackle GM Bator Sambuev.

“One thing is sure, we’ll be giving it our best shot,” said Sadorra, who played football and did some running under the rain with So when the 11-round biennial event took a break Wednesday.