By Lynde Salgados
Correspondent

THE Philippine Paralympic team’s virtual bronze finish in the team competition of the 4th World Chess Championship for people with disabilities apparently went for naught after the tournament’s late discovery of an engine cheater.

After reviewing and updating the final results with the organizing Fide’s Fair Play Panel in time of the November 17 awards rites, another cheating incident was unveiled that resulted in the disqualification of one player from Vietnam in favor of Cuba.

The one-point deduction being added to Cuba, thus propelled the latter from overtaking the Philippines by only half a point, 26 to 25.5 in the fight for the team bronze or the third-place honor.

“Sayang. ‘Mi nakalaban pala sila na na-DQ kaya’t nakahabol pa,” said the 2020 International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA) champion, Fide Master Sander Severino.

Although the nine-round Swiss event was convened in an individual format, the organizers made it clear that the points of the four best players from each country would be added together as the basis for team ranking.

The powerhouse Poland dominated with 29.5 for the gold, ahead of Russia (28.5) that took the silver.

The individual gold went to the Armenian Sargis Sargissyan with 8.5 stripes out of a possible nine, besting a field of 249 players from 44 countries in the 10-day battle held for the first time virtually.

“Vietnam player ang nag cheat. So, na 4th na lang ‘ta officially kay ang usa nga nakalaban sa Cuba nag engine mao nag plus one pa sila sa final standings,” clarified Arena Grandmaster Henry Roger Lopez, who delivered the only full point for the Philippines in the final round to become the team's best scorer at seven points.

His output also put Lopez in the company of the top-seeded Polish Grandmaster Marcin Tazbir and five others, sharing 9th to 15th spots.

The other Filipinos, Jasper Rom (6.5 pt), Severino (six pt), Darry Bernardo (six pt), and Rodolfo Sarmiento (five pt) landed at 20th, 34th, 39th, and 97th places, respectively, after the tiebreaker.

“It’s really disheartening for us to miss the bronze by only half a point. But I feel satisfied with my performance having given my best and hoping to improve further next time,” Lopez said.

The cast of Cuba island, which produced the great classical world champion Jose Raul Capablanca from 1921 to 1927, is comprised of Carlos Larduet (7.5), Raúl Leonardo Lavigne (seven), Alberto Interián (six), and Idalis Batista (5.5).