NOW THE LADIES’ TURN
RP women’s chess team scores 3-0 win vs Ireland; men drawn

For two cultures known for their superstition, Ireland’s four-leaf clovers couldn’t stop the RP ladies crew from taking an emphatic 3-0 victory in Round Two of the 37th Chess Olympiad Monday in Turin, Italy.
       Women’s Fide Master Sherrie Joy Lomibao (who beat Suzanne Connolly on Board One), Sherily Cua (who defeated Deborah Quinn on Board Two), and Women’s International Master Beverly Mendoza (who defeated Poornima Menon on Board Three) took their first-round frustration on the Europeans as the Filipinos hiked their record to 3.5 points, good for 38th to 48th places in the overall standings.
       The victory helped to erase the women’s 2.5-0.5 creaming they got from Germany on opening-day Sunday and certainly boosts their confidence against No. 32 seed Switzerland, the RP ladies’ third-round foe who are coming off a 2.5-0.5 loss to powerhouse No. 4 Hungary.
       The RP men’s team, meanwhile, had to bleed against Luxembourg, salvaging a 2-2 draw in their own Round Two action.
       Needing a full point after his teammates were forced to a couple of draws and a stinging loss, first-time Olympian and Fide Master Oliver Dimakiling helped to secure the draw for the men’s team after beating Fred Berend on Board Three.
       Super GM Mark Paragua debuted in Turin against Alberto David on Board One, while 12-year-old prodigy Wesley So took on Serge Brittner. Both matches ended in draws.
       The reigning RP Open champion was not as lucky, registering the men’s first loss in eight matches thus far after failing to handle the pressure and secure a possible draw against Mieczyslaw Bakalarz.
       The 35th-seeded men’s crew tallied 6.0 points to share with 15 other countries the 22nd to 34th places.
       The Filipinos next face No. 7 seed USA. The Americans brought Morocco back down to earth with a 3.5-0.5 victory in the second round. The Moroccans pulled off the biggest upset thus far, beating India Sunday.
       Chess officials are looking to field the strongest quartet against the Americans, meaning Paragua, Eugene Torre, Joey Antonio and Dimakiling (the only player to win two matches) are expected to see action in the third round.
       In the Istanbul Olympiad in 2000, the Filipinos managed a 2-2 count versus the US.
       In other men’s action, top seed Russia, minus Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov, blanked No. 42 seed Latvia, 4-0, to grab solo leadership with a perfect 8.0 points.
       Sharing second place are Germany, Poland, and Serbia and Montenegro with 7.5 points. Defending champion Ukraine has 7.0 points.
       On the women’s side, defending champion and No. 6 seed China, No. 13 seed Lithuania, No. 15 seed France and No. 24 seed Latvia remain on top with perfect 6.0 points. The Russian women follow with 5.5 points.