MANILA – Negros Kingsmen pulled off a nerve-wracking 12-9 victory over fancied Caloocan Loadmanna Knights in the first conference of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines on Feb. 13.
The Kingsmen were beaten by the Loadmanna Knights in the Blitz event, 3-4, with only Arena Grand Master Rowelyn Joy Acedo and Rosendo Bandal Jr. scoring a win, and International Master Joel Pimentel and National Master Rolzon Roullo settling for a draw.
The Negrenses bounced back in Rapid event in 9-5 score with Acedo, Bandal and Roullo winning and Pimentel, FIDE Master Nelson Mariano III, and Randy Segarra settling for a draw.
“We came into the match not knowing what to expect. We were up against team Caloocan, the number one team of the northern division. But due to our strong team spirit, we were able to overcome them,” said Bandal, one of the co-owners of Kingsmen.
The Kingsmen had a better outing in the second game against Northern Division’s Cagayan Valley Kings, 19-2, with Acedo, Pimentel, Roullo, Segarra, and Nayk Aguilar Segismar winning their Rapid event match.
Segarra, Acedo, Pimentel, Roullo, Segarra, Segismar, and Bandal also won their Blitz event matches for Negros, while Mariano settled for a draw with his opponent from Cagayan.
“Our team members continue to inspire each other. Still, big challenges lie ahead and we hope to continue even stronger,” said Bandal, whose team is now at first place in the Southern Division with a 15-2 record.
Unlike the Kingsmen, the Iloilo Kisela Knights slid to a 14-3 record after splitting their Saturday night matches with a win over San Juan Predators (11.5-9.5) and losing to Rizal Batch Towers (7.5-13.5).
After losing their Blitz game against the Predators, the Kisela Knights bounced back in Rapid with wins from NM Nelson Mariano, NM Fritz Porras, Karl Ochoa, and Dennis Bernas, and a draw by Grand Master Joey Antonio.
“Perdi kami against Rizal, it was quite an upset. But at least we won against the top three teams of the northern division the past few days. The team will regroup then recover,” said Kisela Knights team owner Leo Sotaridona./PN
