BUDAPEST, Hungary — At 49th place and grasping at straws with two rounds to go, the Philippines was praying for the stars to align.
It did.
Willing their way out of oblivion, the Filipinas bravely took out their last two foes including the Brazilians in a 4-0 victory in the 11th and final round on Sunday, and with everything falling into place, achieved so many milestones in the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad that concluded at the BOK Sports Hall.
Shania Mendoza, Janelle Mae Frayna, Jodilyn Fronda and Ruelle Canino all prevailed across all four boards to power the Filipnas to a share of 22nd with 14 others with 14 match points apiece and eventually 24th overall after tiebreaks were computed.
It proved enough to snare the country, seeded 47th entering the 11-round tournament, the gold medal in Group B, confined to the 35th to the 70th ranked countries based on rating in this 181-nation field, ahead of Montenegro and Latvia.
The gold was first for the Philippines, which also has Bernadette Galas at last board, since the team of Sheerie Joy Lomibao, Catherine Pereña, Sherily Cua and Beverly Mendoza took the gold in Group C in the 2006 Turin edition.
It was also its best finish since the brave troika of Girme Fontanilla, Mila Emperado and Ma. Cristina Santos Fidaer performed magnificently at 22nd place in 1988 in Thessaloniki, Greece.
“It will be a legacy in Philippine chess that will be remembered for a long time,” said national women’s team coach Grandmaster Jayson Gonzales, who thanked the Philippine Sports Commission, the NCFP chief Butch Pichay, delegation head Atty. Ruel Canobas, women’s manager Atty. Nikki de Vega, Far Eastern University chair Aurelio Montinola III for their support.
It all came to fore after the heavens smiled on the Filipinas.
Sixth only in the Category B race entering the final round, Iran, the erstwhile leader, defaulted its game against Israel due to political reasons, and the other countries ahead of the Philippines, either fell and drew itself out of the hunt.
Then, with just four countries left to contend with, the Filipinas outpointed each and everyone in tiebreaks to hammer in the final nail in the coffin.
Interestingly, all five members earned rating points with Ms. Canino, the 16-year-old pint-sized spectacle from Cagayan de Oro and FEU, gaining the most with 102 whopping points after scoring six out of eight points right on his debut.
She will rise from 2004 to 2260, which will include the rating point (rps) she raked in following her impressive stints in several tournaments in Europe a couple of months before.
Also earning pluses were Mses. Mendoza (36.2 rps), Frayna (27.8 rps), Galas (8.8 rps) and Fronda (0.6 rp).
The jubilation somehow drowned the sorrows of the country’s stinging 59th place ending in the open section where it scored 12 points.
But it could have been better as the Filipinos were staring at replicating, if not eclipsing, the country’s record seventh-place effort in the 1988 staging in Thessaloniki, Greece after jumping to a share of 15th place with two rounds remaining.
The heavens, however, didn’t smile on them like it did to the Filipinas as they lost their last two including a painful 3-1 defeat to host Hungary B in the last round.
In all, India harvested the open and women’s gold medals as well as the Gaprindashvili Cup, awarded to the country with the highest total score of the men’s and women’s teams combined.
But that gold by the country shone as bright as the ones brandished by the mighty Indians and should reverberate back home for a country longing for Philippine chess glory. — Joey Villar
