Six of the country’s top wood pushers started their quest to get slots in the first-ever FIDE (Federation Internationale des Echecs) Online Chess Olympiad set July 22 to Aug. 30.
The qualifier game started July 11 as Baguio’s International Master Haridas Pascua went literally to “war” against top chess players led by former top Filipino player Mark Paragua.
“I expect nothing but I am going to give my best so that I can qualify,” said the two-time national champion.
“The Olympiad is really a prestigious tournament so for sure all of them are really prepared and eager to qualify,” Pascua added.
Paragua has returned to competition in the Philippines after a stint in the United States.
His return to national competitions saw the sharpness that once defined his game that catapulted him to a rating above the 2600 Elo rating, the best for a Filipino until Wesley So came along and shattered all records.
Paragua is fresh from winning the Battle of Grand Masters (GM), Congressman Pichay Birthday Cup, and is the marked man in the tournament that will have another former top player in Grand Master Joey Antonio.
Antonio at 58 remains sharp and has been one of the more dominant players in online games made possible by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Antonio came in as a replacement for GM John Paul Gomez who ceded his slot to Antonio to allow the best players possible for the Olympiad.
The six-man qualifier also includes GMs Rogelio Barcenilla, Darwin Laylo, and IM Paolo Bersamina.
Barcenilla, Laylo, Gomez, Bersamina, Pascua, and top Filipino rated player Julio Catalino Sadorra were supposed to represent the country to the 44th World Chess Olympiad in Moscow that was canceled due to the pandemic.
Sadorra begged off from qualifiers that the National Chess Federation of the Philippines invited Paragua, now the country’s best player.
The FIDE Online Olympiad will have two male players and two reserves; and a minimum of three women players and a minimum of two under 20. The team will have a maximum of six players. – PNA
April 20, 2024
