MANILA – Iloilo Kisela Knights continued its fine play in the 2022 Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) Wesley So Cup by sweeping its two games on Saturday night.
The Kisela Knights opened the evening with a 14.5-6.5 victory over Quezon before following it up with a 16-5 triumph over Rizal to stay on top in Southern Division with 17-0 slate.
Iloilo edged Quezon in blitz game, 5.5-1.5, behind victories by Hovhannez Gabuzyan (Board 1), Karl Victor Ochoa (Board 2), Rogelio Antonio Jr. (Board 4), Fritz Bryan Porras (Board 5) and Rolly Parondo Jr. (Board 7) and a draw by Cherry Ann Mejia (Board 3).
The Kisela Knights also defeated Quezon in rapid event, 9-5, with two pointers each from Gabuzyan, Ochoa, Antonio and Parondo and a split point from Mejia.
Against Rizal, the Kisela Knights had a dominant win in the blitz event, 6-1, with full points each from Gabuzyan, Ochoa, Mejia, Antonio, Mark Jossel Mariano (Board 6) and Parondo.
The Kisela Knights also scored a 10-4 triumph against Rizal in rapid event with two-pointers from Gabuzyan, Ochoa, Mejia, Antonio and Parondo.
“The team were taking it one game at a time. We also made sure that each player will have their chance to play and shine at any given match,” said Iloilo head coach Hubert Canto.
Negros Kingsmen, meanwhile, scored a 16-5 domination over Olongapo before suffering a close 11-10 defeat to Mindoro in the second game. Negros currently has 11-6 win-loss record.
The Kingsmen scored a 5-2 triumph over Olongapo in the blitz game with Bernadette Galas (Board 3), Edmundo Gatus (Board 4), Rolzon Roullo (Board 5), Alfredo Dumalag (Board 6) and Ted Ian Montoyo (Board 7) scoring wins.
Negros was close to perfect against Caloocan in blitz game, 11-3, behind two points each by Galas, Gatus, Roullo, Dumalag and Montoyo and a split point from Adelaide Joie Lim (Board 2)./PN
