Sadorra, Gomez put Phl back in contention

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Grandmasters Julio Catalino Sadorra and John Paul Gomez delivered victories in the Philippines’ 3-1 win over South Africa in the eighth round Thursday to get back into the thick of things in the 45th Chess Olympiad at the BOK Sports Hall here on Thursday.

Sadorra turned back International Master Jan Karsten in 36 moves of a Queen’s Pawn duel at board one while Gomez waylaid FIDE Master Banele Mhango in 34 moves of the Jaenisch Variation of the Ruy Lopez at board three as the Filipinos moved into a big group in the top 30 with 10 match points each.

IMs Paulo Bersamina and Jan Emmanuel Garcia both split their games early with Caleb Levi Levitan and Daniel Cawdery at boards two and four, respectively, before Gomez and Sadorra unleashed the killer blows.

The win was a soothing balm for the Filipinos after absorbing back-to-back defeats at the hands of the Armenians, 2.5-1.5, and the Croats, 3.5-.5, that kicked them out of the top 10.

Sadorra, a University of Texas in Dallas coach, said they would need all the prayers and support when they go for the final push in their medal search starting with a ninth-round duel with the United Arab Emirates.

“We will need all the encouragement to keep fighting hard for our team,” said Sadorra, who is running sixth in the hotly contested individual medal race at board one.

In contrast, the Filipinas absorbed a heartbreaking 2.5-15 defeat to 16th seed Turkey to likewise fall out of the top 20 and land into a share of top 30 with a pack of 10-pointers.

Shania Mae Mendoza fought long and hard for a match-tying draw but faltered in the end to Ekaterina Atalik in a marathon 100-move result of a Slav encounter at board one that sealed the country’s painful fate.

Janelle Mae Frayna, Ruelle Canino and Bernadette Galas all agreed to draws with Betul Cemre Yildiz Kadioglu, Gulaney Aydin and Hayale Isgenderova, respectively, in the lower boards, before Mendoza’s last-gasp attempt at a miracle that didn’t materialize.

They will clash with the 22nd seed Romanians next.