PH women stun Slovakia, leapfrog to 12th place

The Philippines went to Fide Master Shania Mendoza and Women International Master Marie Antoinette San Diego in pulling the rug from under a favored Slovakia, 2.5-1.5, and zooming to contention after four rounds of the 43rd World Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia, Thursday night.

Mendoza shocked Woman Grandmaster Zuzana Cibickova on board three while the 19-year-old San Diego turned back WFM Dominika Ferkova on board four to seal the win by the Filipino chessers as top board player WGM Janelle Mae Frayna split the point with IM Eva Repkova.

WIM Catherine Secopito succumbed to IM Zuzana Stockova on the second board, but that hardly mattered as Mendoza and San Diego struck hard when the team needed it most.

The victory sent the Philippines leapfrogging to a 29-country logjam at No. 12 with six match points apiece in this 11-round tournament giving two points for a victory and a point for a draw.

The Philippines will clash with 25th seed England, which steamrolled El Salvador, 4-0.

The Filipino men’s squad wasn’t as fortunate as it absorbed a 1.5-2.5 defeat to Estonia that was hastened by IM Jan Emmanuel Garcia’s defeat to GM Aleksandr Volodin on board three.

GMs Julio Catalino Sadorra and John Paul Gomez and IM Haridas Pascua fought for draws with GM Kaido Kulaots, GM Ottomar Ladva and FM Ilja Sirosh.

The Filipinos thus sputtered to a share of 66th place with just four points to show.