BUDAPEST, Hungary — Filipino Grandmaster (GM) Julio Catalino Sadorra will try to carry the Philippines on his shoulders anew as they face off with dangerous Croatia in the seventh round of the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad at the BOK Sports Hall here.
The 38-year-old University of Texas in Dallas coach is expected to man the top board for the Filipinos, who will be fielding Daniel Quizon, Paulo Bersamina and John Paul Gomez, against the Croatians, an all-GM side that was formerly part of chess power Yugoslavia.
The Filipinos, whose participation was being financed by the PSC through Chair Richard Bachmann and Commissioner Ed Hayco and backed by NCFP chief Butch Pichay, will try to barge back into the top 10 after sputtering to a share of 21st following a stinging 2.5-1.5 setback to the rock-solid Armenians, a former champion here.
Mr. Sadorra came into the round brandishing an impressive record of 3.5 points in four games, which included shocking wins over super GMs Vladimir Fedoseev in a mammoth 2.5-1.5 win over the Slovenians in the fifth round Sunday and Armenian Haik Martirosyan the next day.
This put Mr. Sadorra in the running for an individual medal on top board as he is currently ranked fifth with a tournament performance rating of 2879, behind and elite cast of Indian Dommaraju Gukesh (2998), American Fabiano Caruana (2987), Uzbek Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2948), and Vietnamese Le Quang Liem (2881).
Mr. Sadorra is hoping to become the first Filipino to win a medal in the biennial event since GM Eugene Torre, now the national men’s coach and non-playing captain, snatched a bronze in the 2016 Baku edition where he scored a scintillating 10 out of 11.
Mr. Sadorra, however, is more focused on helping the team win.
“I just want to help the team in any way I can, may it be leading by example, teaching, advising and just being a friend to them,” he said.
Shania Mae Mendoza, Janelle Mae Frayna, Jan Jodilyn Fronda and Ruelle Canino will plunge back into action as the Filipinas, currently bunched in a big group at No. 22 with eight points each, battle the 26th ranked Argentines.
Meanwhile, the whole team, including national women’s coach GM Jayson Gonzales, was treated to a refreshing city tour by delegation head Atty. Ruel Canobas. — Joey Villar
