It was a total team effort that gave Iloilo Kisela Knights’ first victory in the opening game of Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP): Wesley So Cup.
The Iloilo-based professional chess team banked on their newly-acquired import Armenian Grandmaster Hovhannes Gabuzyan who led the team in outsmarting Palawan Queen’s Gambit, 18-3.
“So far, okay man amon first round against Palawan. Wala lang kami nag kumpyansa kay dako pinagbag-o sa line up nila. Ang top rated nila nga mga lady masters last conference sa homegrown na naghalampang daan. Kag prepared man kami kay bal-an man namun daan nga napreparahan man kami sang kontra,” shared NM John Michael Silvederio.
In the blitz category, Iloilo easily topped the game, winning seven boards against the all-women squad. However, Palawan also fought back after scoring in the rapid events. But IKK managed to escape a big win through local players paced by GM Joey Antonio Jr.
Cherry Ann Mejia, Cesar Mariano, Fritz Bryan Porras, and Dennis Bernas also starred after scoring points in the inaugural tournament.
For owner Leo Sotaridona, he said while they won 18-3 against Palawan Queens Gambit, a lose by the top two boards during the first (blitz) round was quite a surprise.
I’m confident though that we can easily bounce back on the rapid round, if need to, which was exactly what happened wherein the queens salvaged only one draw of the seven boards. It was a great start for Iloilo Kisela Knights,” he added.
The team will start their second match on Wednesday as they try to outplay Mindoro (1st match) and Iriga (2nd match). Iriga lost to Negros in the opener with a score of 4.5-16.5, while Mindoro lost to Lapu lapu, 9-12.IMT
