by Marlon Bernardino
MANILA, Philippines—The defending champion Laguna notched back-to-back convincing wins and swept the start of Inter-Division, North versus South of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) season II dubbed as Grandmaster Wesley So Cup Conference online tournament Wednesday, June 9, 2021 being held at chess.com platform.
Led by sub-import Ukrainian Grandmaster Kirill Shevchenko, the Heroes smashed Lapu-Lapu City Naki Warrios, 16.5-4.5 with impressive wins in both blitz and rapid. They also crushed Mindoro Tamaraws in the second game, 15.5-5.5.
“The defending champion Laguna Heroes started the day with a stellar outing against Lapu-Lapu City Naki Warrios, 16.5-4.5, and finished the day with another win against Mindoro Tamaraws, 15.5-5.5,” said Arena Grandmaster Dr. Alfredo “Fred” Paez, one of the four co-team owners of the Laguna Heroes including David Nithyananthan of KALARO, Engr. Benjamin Dy of SDC Global Choice and Engr. Jonathan Mamaril of Oregon.
The 18-years-old Shevchenko defeated Anthony Makinano of Lapu-Lapu City, 3-0, and Zejih Merilles of Mindoro, 3-0, to help propel the Heroes to a solo third with 10-3 win-loss records in the Northern Division.
Two-Time Asian Junior Champion Grandmaster Rogelio “Banjo” Barcenilla Jr., FIDE Master Austin Jacob Literatus, Woman National Master Jean Karen Enriquez, FIDE Master Jose Efren Bagamasbad, Grandmaster John Paul Gomez, Vince Angelo Medina, Kimuel Aaron Lorenzo and Candidate Master Arjie Bayangat also stepped up big time to help Laguna with their back-to-back wins.
The United States based Barcenilla toppled import Vietnamese Woman Grandmaster Le Thao Nguyen of Lapu-Lapu City, 3-0, Literatus beat Joselito Asi of Mindoro, 3-0, Enriquez blanked Marian Calimbo of Lapu-Lapu City, 3-0, Bagamasbad subdued Marcelo Abeleda of Mindoro,3-0, Gomez waylaid Romeo Resuero of Lapu-Lapu City, 2-1, Medina defeated Neil Adrian Gilig of Lapu-Lapu City, 2-1, then blasted US master Rainer Labay of Mindoro, 3-0, Lorenzo dealt Daniel Minoza of Lapu-Lapu City, 3-0, while Bayangat crushed Ronald Berdera of Mindoro, 2-1.
The Heroes will seek to maintain their hot streak and will try to clinch the no. 1 spot in the Northern Division by facing Negros Kingsmen and Palawan Queen’s Gambit on Saturday, June 12, 2021.
Other members of the winning Laguna Heroes chess team backed up by Greatech Philippines, Inc., SDC Global Choice, Jolly Smile Dental Clinic, KALARO and Rotary Club of Nuvali were Arena Grandmaster Fred Paez, Mr. David Nithyananthan of KALARO, Engr. Benjamin Dy of SDC Global Choice and Engr. Jonathan Mamaril of Oregon, USA
(Northern Division)
1 San Juan (11-2 win-loss-record)
2 Manila (11-2)
3 Laguna (10-3 )
4-5 Caloocan ( 9-4)
4-5 Antipolo (9-4)
6 Isabela (8-5)
7 Pasig (7-6)
8-9 Cagayan (5-8)
8-9 Cavite (5-8)
10 Quezon (3-10)
11 Rizal (1-12)
12 Olongapo (0-13)
(Southern Division)
1-2 Camarines (12-1)
1-2 Cordova (12-1)
3-4 Iloilo (10-3)
3-4 Toledo (10-3)
5 Zamboanga (8-5)
6 Negros (7-6)
7 Lapu-Lapu (5-8)
8 Palawan (4-9)
9-10 Surigao (3-10)
9-10 Cebu (3-10)
11 Mindoro (2-11)
12 Iriga (1-12)