FRESH from going berserk, leading Mindanao teams Davao Chess Eagles and Surigao Fianchetto Checkmates hope to sustain the momentum when the inter-division elimination round of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines’ Wesley So Cup resumes on Saturday night via lichess.com online platform.
The veteran-laced Davao Eagles extended their winning streak to 12 after beating Isabela, 17-4 on Wednesday night behind the leadership of newly-acquired Grandmaster Darwin Laylo and World chess champion for the differently-abled in Fide Master Sander Severino.
“The win is also a fitting gift to our teammate and birthday celebrant James Infiesto,” said Davao’s co-team manager Aladino Diez, as he also acknowledged female ace AGM Rowelyn Joy Acedo, coach Roel Abelgas and National Masters Jonathan Tan, Alexander Lupian, Henry Lopez and Oberio 8 Aglipay for contributing much in the Eagles’ title hunt.
This, as the Surigao Checkmaters scored a twin kill against Mindoro, 15.5-5.5, and Cavite, 14.5-6.5 on the same night to climb to third place with a 14-5 win-loss ledger.
The Iloilo Kisela Knights lost for the first time in 19 matches at the hands of Manila Indios Bravo, 11-10. But their solid 18-1 record made the Ilonggos still the top-performing team in the Southern Division ahead of Davao Chess Eagles which hold a 16-3 card.
In previous weeks, Surigao’s own streak ― including upset wins over PCAP champions Laguna and San Juan ― got stalled by Davao’s hair-raising 11-10 conquest, mainly attributed to Severino’s complete domination of Lennon Hart Salgados in both the blitz and rapid showdowns on board 2.
The Airforce man Salgados, who earlier trounced Chinese GM Xu Yi and Ukrainian-Spanish GM Victor Moskalenko of San Juan Knights, however, rebounded with his sustained mastery over foreign masters by besting Cavite’s Vietnamese import NM Darian Nguyen to provide the needed boost for Surigao.
“Aside from Lennon Hart’s five of six on the team’s second board, we’re also riding high on our reliable lady scorer Mariel Romero (5.5/6) and board 6 player Rhenz Auza (5/6) in our huge victories on Wednesday,” Surigao team owner, Arena Grandmaster Rey Urbiztondo told Gold Star Daily.
