Monday, May 29, 2006
Davao player wins as RP nips Ecuador
By Charles Raymond A. Maxey
OLIVER Dimakiling returned to see action Saturday and got the job done as the Philippines finally made its move by crushing Ecuador, 3-1, in the sixth round of the 37th World Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy.
The 26-year-old Dimakiling, the newest chess sensation from Davao City who is playing in his first Olympiad, benefited from three days of rest to down Miguel Medina on board three.
Dimakiling, a silver medalist in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games in Manila, wasn't fielded in rounds 4 and 5 by team captain Sammy Estimo and got additional break when the Olympiad had its rest day Friday.
But Dimakiling, who won his first two matches, came back strong after a defeat in the third round with a huge victory that pushed the Philippines up in the standings.
National Master Darwin Laylo and 12-year-old wonder Wesley So highlighted the scintillating round of the Filipinos with victories on boards two and four, respectively.
Only Grandmaster Eugene Torre lost his match, going down to GM Carlos Franco Matamoros on board one.
Still, the Filipinos got a huge lift with the victories of the younger players. After six rounds the Philippines now has 14.5 points for a share of the 30th place. The Filipinos meet 27th seed Iceland in the seventh round. In women's play, the Filipinas lost to Belarus, .5-2.5.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (May 29, 2006 issue)
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