Philippines Lost to Australia to Settle for 58th Place in the Final Ranking (Open)

For the final round, GM Eugenio Torre delivered anew with a win for Team Philippines, but once again it was not enough, as GM John Paul Gomez on board 2 and GM Rogelio Barcenilla lost their games to the Aussies.

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/philippines-australia-round-11-results-open.csv”]

Replay the Round 11 games below: [replay]

Thus, the Philippines, with 5 wins, 2 draws, and 4 losses, takes the 58th place in the final ranking, down from their 53rd seed at the start of the tournament.

Philippines Sweeps Scotland in Round 10 Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad Open

The 53rd seed Philippines wins all boards against the 63rd seed Scotland in Round 10 of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad.

GM Eugene Torre continues with his winning streak in this event, now with 8 wins and 2 draws, for a total score of 9 points out of 10 games.

Games Results: Philippines vs. Scotland, Round 10 Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/philippines-scotland-round-10-open.csv”]

Replay the games below: [replay]

With this win, the Philippines is ranked number 39 after 10 rounds, and is set to face the 45th seed Australia in the final round.

Board pairings of Philippines vs. Australia follows:

Board Pairings: Philippines vs. Australia, Round 11 Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/philippines-australia-board-matchup-round-11-baku-2016.csv”]

Philippines Round 10 Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad

Games to watch out for later in Round 10 of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad:

Round 10 Open: Philippines vs. Scotland

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/philippines-scotland-round-10.csv”]

Round 10 Women: Philippines vs. Italy

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/philippines-italy-round-10-women.csv”]

Philippines Lost to Italy in Round 7 Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad

GM Eugene Torre has yet to be defeated in the Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad so far. He’s had 2 draws and 5 wins so far in seven rounds, including his latest win against GM Axel Rombaldoni of Italy. But that was not enough to boost the team as the Philippines lost to Italy, 1 ½ to 2 ½ in Round 7 of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad.

Replay the games of Round 7 below: [replay]

Philippines draws with Norway in Round 6 Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad Open

The Philippines may have come as the underdog in this match, but they were able to hold their ground against a team that on average is 165 points its senior, Norway, in Round 6 of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad. The match resulted to a dead even 2-2.[replay]

On Board 1, GM Julio Catalino Sadorra was even able to hold the World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, to a draw, even if the latter was almost 300 ELO points above his own. The rest of the players drew their respective games as well:

This draw boosted the Philippines Open team ranking even further to number 19 after Round 6.

Replay all the games of Round 6, Philippines vs. Norway:[replay]

Philippines Board Match-ups in Round 6 of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad

As mentioned earlier, it’s gonna be a tough match for the Philippines team in the Open section (Seed No. 53), as they face the team of the World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, Norway (Seed No. 12), in Round 6 of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad.

GM Julio Catalino Sadorra will face the World Champion himself in Board 1:

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/philippines-norway-round-6-match-up-open.csv”]

The Philippines Women team (Seed No. 46) will face a probably lighter opposition in Mexico (Seed No. 57) in Round 6:

Philippines Beats South Africa in Round 5 Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad (Open)

Philippines wins anew in Round 5 of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad Open section, this time against the 79th seed South Africa. With a score of 3½ against ½, only GM John Paul Gomez drew his game, the rest were wins, including the 4th win of GM Eugene Torre in 5 rounds. [replay]

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/philippines-vs-south-africa-match-up.csv”]

With this win, this puts the Philippines in 23rd place after 5 rounds, thus is set to meet tougher opponents in the next round.

True enough, it’ll be Philippines vs. Norway, home to the highest rated player in the world and the world champion, Magnus Carlsen, in Round 6.

Replay all the games of Philippines vs. South Africa below: [replay]

Philippines vs. Paraguay Round 2 Results – Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad

Asia’s first Grandmaster, GM Eugene Torre, never failed to deliver so far in two rounds of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad. He won his game anew, this time in Round 2 against GM Jose Fernando Cubas of Paraguay in Board 3 of their match.

Sadly, that was the only win for Philippine team in Round 2 of Open Section. Julio Catalino Sadorra drew his game in Board 1. The rest lost their games.[replay]

PHI vs. PAR - R2 Results

Bo.53Philippines (PHI)Rtg-39Paraguay (PAR)Rtg1½:2½
35/1GMSadorra, Julio Catalino (w)2560-GMDelgado Ramirez, Neuris (b)2618½ - ½
35/2GMGomez, John Paul (b)2492-GMBachmann, Axel (w)26410 - 1
35/3GMTorre, Eugenio (w)2447-GMCubas, Jose Fernando (b)24701 - 0
35/4GMBarcenilla, Rogelio (b)2455-GMFranco Ocampos, Zenon (w)24960 - 1

Check out Eugene Torre’s interview with Susan Polgar after the Round 1 games below:

Tough Matches for Philippines in Round 2 of Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad

After winning all their 8 games in Round 1 for both Open and Women Section, the Philippine team are up against much tougher opponents in Round 2.[replay]

The Open Section team will be up against the 39th seed, Paraguay. The match up follows:

Philippines vs. Paraguay - Round 2 Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad Open

Bo.53Philippines (PHI)Rtg39Paraguay (PAR)Rtg
35/1GMSadorra, Julio Catalino (w)2560GMDelgado Ramirez, Neuris (b)2618
35/2GMGomez, John Paul (b)2492GMBachmann, Axel (w)2641
35/3GMTorre, Eugenio (w)2447GMCubas, Jose Fernando (b)2470
35/4GMBarcenilla, Rogelio (b)2455GMFranco Ocampos, Zenon (w)2496

Meanwhile, the Women team will be facing the 4th seed, Georgia:

GM Joey Antonio is out of Philippines’ roster for Baku 2016 Chess Olympiad Open

Philstar reported last Monday:

Grandmaster Joey Antonio, the reigning national champion, will not be joining the Philippine team bound for the 42nd World Chess Olympiad set Sept. 1-14 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The explanation offered by the NCFP: that GM Rogelio “Joey” Antonio, Jr. will be playing in the 2016 World Seniors Championship in November.

Ed Andaya writes in Journal Online:

Conspicuously absent is Battle of GMs national champion Rogelio Antonio, Jr., who reportedly begged off from taking his place in the national team to Baku.

Infiesto said Antonio decided to represent the country in the 2016 World Seniors Championsips in the Czech Republic in November, along with Torre.

If you don’t smell something fishy about these developments, let me point out to you what Antonio posted on his Facebook account just last month: