LWUA TOPS INTER-PROVINCE CHESS

BY: MARLON BERNARDINO

Final standings:

14 points -- LWUA-A
13 – Rizal, Tagaytay, Makati, Boracay-A
12 -- Laguna
10 – LWUA-B, Capiz, DepEd-Pasig, Cebu, Palawan
9 – Iloilo,, Aklan-B. Negros, DAR-Lanao del Sur, Antique

LOCAL Water Utilities Administration-A is this year's National Inter-Province chess team championship winner at the Cabagnot Training Center in Old Buswang in Kalibo, Aklan on Thursday.

LWUA-A settled for a 2-2 draw with Laguna enroute to the coveted title.

Jayson Salubre took up the cudgels for LWUA-A as he defeated Richie Jocson on board four and helped the fifth-seeded team from Quezon City escape with a draw against Laguna.

Salubre’s win was enough to cushion the impact of the upset loss of GM John Paul Gomez to IM Emmanuel Senador in their board one showdown and the draws of Merben Roque against Rodolfo Panopio and Nelson Mariano III against John Orozco.

Overall, LWUA-A finished with a nine-round total of 14 points on five wins and four draws in the matchpoint-style scoring system, good enough to capture the trophy and the top prize of P100,000.

Four teams – Rizal, Tagaytay, Makati and Boracay-A – shared second to fifth places with 13 points.

Rizal and Tagaytay battled to a 2-2 draw, Makati crushed DAR-Lanao del Sur, 3.5-1.5 and Boracay-A edged LWUA-B, 2.5-1.5.

The four teams received P42,500 each.

Laguna dropped to solo sixth place with 12 points.

IM Oliver Barbosa of Rizal and GM Darwin Laylo of Tagaytay drew their match, leaving the battle on the lower boards.

Jose Aquino defeated Roel Abelgas for Rizal’s lone victory, but Allan Cantonios nipped Gary Legaspi to even the score for Tagaytay.

Ivan Gil Biag and Jerry Areque also halved the point on board three.

Makati struck on victories by Edsel Montoya, Raymond Ric De la Pena and Mervin Lumidao on boards two to four after top player David Elorta drew with FM Roderick Nava on top board.

Boracay-A, on the other hand, relied on Carlito La Vega’s victory over Ilann Perez to edge LWUA-B.

IM Idelfonso Datu drew with Alcon John Datu, Rommel Ganzon halved the point with Garry Garcia and Horizon Villanueva split the point with Jan Nigel Galan.

The individual gold medallists are Jony Habla of DepEd-Pasig (board one), Jose Aquino of Rizal (board two), Horizon Villanueva of Boracay-A ( board three), Allan Cantonjos of Tagaytay (board four) and Jay Fortunado of Iloilo ( board five). They received P2,000 each.

A total of 24 teams from Luzon, Visayas and Mindano saw action in the annual competition organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), headed by chairman/president Prospero “Butch” Pichay, in cooperation with the Aklan provincial government, thru Gov. Carlito Marquez and Congressman Florencio Miraflores.

NCFP executive/events director Willie Abalos awarded the trophies to the top finishers, assisted by Aklan provincial sports coordinator Wilfredo Neri.