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GRANDMASTER (GM) candidate John Paul Gomez did what he
was supposed to do late Sunday: draw his 17th and
final-round match with fellow International Master (IM)
Rolando Nolte.
Gomez
settled for a draw with Nolte in 31 moves of the French
Defense to formally capture the title and earn one of
five berths on the Philippine team to the World Chess
Olympiad in Dresden, Germany, in November.
 The
22-year-old pride of Biñan, Laguna, who rose to
prominence by winning the national junior titles in
2000, 2001 and 2006, finished with a 17-round total of
13 points on 10 wins, six draws and only one loss in the
tournament, held at the Kaban ng Hiyas Building in
Mandaluyong City.
Gomez
finished only half-a-point ahead of Dubai Open champion
and top seed GM Wesley So, who made short work of IM
Ronald Bancod in 28 moves of the Caro Kann in the final
round.
“Masayang-masaya
po ako sa pagkapanalo ko dito. This is really one of
the best moments in my career,” said Gomez, who will
make his first appearance on the national team to the
Olympics of chess.
Joining
Gomez and So on the five-man team to Dresden from
November 12 to 25 are GM Buenaventura “Bong” Villamayor,
who finished in solo third place with 11.5 points; and
GMs Jayson Gonzales and Darwin Laylo, who wound up with
10 points.
Meanwhile, Woman International Master (WIM)-candidate
Catherine Perena of the University of the Philippines
(UP) will lead the women’s team to the Olympiad.
Perena,
who earned her first WIM norm during the 2006 Turin
Olympiad, outlasted five-time national champion WIM
Cristine Rose Mariano in 80 moves of the Larsen
Nimzowitsch to finish with eight points through 11
rounds.
Woman
National Master (WNM) Shercila Cua, a 2004 Southeast
Asian Games silver medalist, and former collegiate
gold-medal winner Daisy Rivera finished in a two-way tie
for second to third places with 7.5 points to join
Perena.
Perena,
a mainstay of the famed V. Luna Chess Club, outduelled
UP standout Rida Jane Yong in 42 moves of the Colle
system. Rivera, a graduate of the University of the
East, subdued five-time national age-group titlist WNM
Kimberly Jane Cunanan in 41 moves of the Caro Kann.
Completing the five-woman Olympiad team are Chardine
Cheradee Camacho, who beat Eden Tumbos by forfeiture;
and WNM Cristy Lamiel Bernales, who outclassed Enerose
Magno in 80 moves of the Irregular opening.
Camacho
finished fourth with seven points, while Bernales wound
up with six points.
Gomez’s
only setback in the grueling, fortnight-long tournament
organized by the National Chess Federation of the
Philippines (NCFP) in cooperation with the Mandaluyong
City government came at the hands of So in the pivotal
16th round Saturday.
The
14-year-old So would have won the title with a
combination of a win over Bancod and a loss by Gomez to
Nolte in the final round, by virtue of the
winner-over-the-other rule.
But
Gomez made sure it would not happen.
So,
whose meteoric rise earned him the distinction as the
world’s youngest GM last year, finished with nine wins,
seven draws and only one loss.
It will
be So’s second straight appearance in the Olympiad
following a respectable stint in Turin.
Villamayor split the point with GM Mark Paragua in 30
moves of the Slav, Gonzales drew with NM Leonardo Carlos
in 30 pushes of the King’s Indian and Laylo outplayed IM
Chito Garma in 31 moves of the English to cap their
respective campaigns.
Actually, Gonzales and Laylo finished in a three-way tie
with Paragua at 10 points but clinched the last two
Olympiad berths by virtue of higher tiebreak scores.
Paragua,
however, will lead the other national team to the
inaugural World Mind Games scheduled on October 3 to 13
in Beijing, China.
Paragua
will be joined in Beijing by Garma, (9.5 points) Carlos
(9), Nolte (9), and IM Julio Catalino Sadorra (8.5
points).
Sadorra
caught the last ticket to Beijing by downing NM Haridas
Pascua in 23 moves of the Catalan.
In the
women’s draw, Turin Olympiad veteran WNM Sherily Cua and
Palarong Pambansa gold medalist Jan Jodilyn Fronda also
finished with six points, but missed the slot owing to
lower tiebreak scores. They will instead lead the
women’s team to the World Mind Games.
Joining
them are Mariano (five points), Cunanan (four points)
and Young (3.5 points).
NCFP
president Prsopero “Butch” Pichay awarded the trophies
to the top three finishers, assisted by NCFP directors
Val Rosabal, Judge Gonzalo Mapili and Atty. Edmundo
Legaspi and NCFP executive director Willie Abalos. |
