Israelis spoil Phl top-10 bid

The Philippine women’s team missed out on another upset draw and succumbed to 22nd seed Israel, 1-3, in the ninth round Friday that derailed its bid for a potential top-10 finish in the 46th World Chess Olympiad at the Silk Road International Exhibition Centre in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna and Woman International Master Ruelle Canino both drew their matches with WIM Noga Orian and IM Masha Klinova on boards two and three, respectively, while WIM Jan Jodilyn Fronda-Grafil was first to stumble against WGM Viktoria Chernyak on board four.

Mhage Sebastian also lost on board one to IM Marsel Efroimski, but she was winning on that one before getting lost with errant pawn exchanges and passive and repetitive knight moves that allowed the latter to escape and even snatch the win.

Had Sebastian won, the Filipinas, whose trip is being bankrolled by the Philippine Sports Commission, would have snared a second straight draw after also splitting their match with the 23rd-ranked Romanians the round before and put them in prime position for a chance at a breakthrough top 10 finish.

It just wasn’t meant to be, though.

The defeat sent the Filipinas sputtering into a 17-nation tie for 39th spot with 11 match points apiece and would need to sweep their remaining two matches, including this one versus the Costa Ricans in the 10th and penultimate round at press time, to duplicate, if not eclipse, their Category B gold medal finish in the last edition in Budapest, Hungary two years back.

The Filipinos, likewise, lost their way at the hands of the all-GM, Magnus Carlsen-less Norway in a 1.5-2.5 result that sent it out of the top 50 with 10 match points to show.

But they looked headed for a shocker after IM Michael Concio, Jr. stunned Johan-Sebastian Christansen on board one and a draw by IM Jem Garcia with Aksel Bu Kvaloy on board four to gain an early 1.5-.5 edge.

IM Pau Bersamina and GM Daniel Quizon couldn’t deliver and succumbed to Elam Amar and Frode Olabv Olsen Urkedal on boards two and three, respectively, which sealed their gloomy fate.