Friday, August 10, 2007 RP in solo second in world U-16 By Jerome S. Galunan Jr.
AFTER tying in ranked third the other day, Philippines posted their best standing in the ongoing World Under-16 Chess Olympiad at the Asean Chess Academy at The Plaza in Singapore.
RP led by IM Wesley So took the second place after a victorious match against Uzbekistan 2.5-1.5.
It was So's sixth straight victory as he remained the only player with perfect scores after six rounds of play in the 10-round Swiss system tournament which lured 34 teams from around the world.
So's impressive performance lifted the 22nd-ranked Filipinos to solo second place with 16 points behind India, which threatened to pull away with 19 points after a 3.5-0.5 win over Turkey.
However, before the victory of the RP woodpushers, they lost to top-seeded Hungary, 1.5-2.5 but outplayed 17th-ranked Iran, 2.5-1.5.
The four RP bets, whose campaign is supported by National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), headed by former Surigao del Sur congressman Prospero "Butch" Pichay and Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), are all products of Shell active chess.
