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Grandmaster (GM) Wesley So, the country’s youngest grandmaster and national champion International Master (IM) John Paul Gomez on Tuesday scored the all-important wins while come-backing GM Bong Villamayor came up with a much-needed draw to lift the RP chess team to a 2.5-1.5 victory over Iran in the fifth round of the 38th World Chess Olympiad at the International Congress Center in Dresden, Germany.
So, who has an Elo Fide rating of 2610, outclassed fellow GM Elshan Moradiabadi (2499) on Board 2 while Gomez (2519) nipped GM Amir Bagheri (2490) on Board 3.
Villamayor (2468), who ended his five-year stint as chess instructor in Singapore to resume competitive play, split the point with GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami (2599) on Board 1.
GM Morteza Mahjoob (2507) beat GM Darwin Laylo (2507) for Iran’s full point on Board 4.
With the win, the 38th ranked Philippine men’s team backed up by NCFP president Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr., jumped to a tie for 17th to 31st place with 7.0 match points after five rounds. The men’s team will next face 12th-ranked Spain in the next round. The Spaniards held 23rd-ranked Belarus to a 2-2 draw.
Meanwhile, Russia and Germany-1 settled for a 2-2 draw to create a six-way tie for first place with 9.0 points in the company of Ukraine, England, Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Armenia toppled the Netherlands, 2.5-1.5; Ukraine defeated Hungrary, 2.5-1.5; Azerbaijan hammered Norway, 3-1 while England edged Italy, 2.5-1.5.
The Philippine women’s team meanwhile, tied for 50th to 61st place with 5.0 points after demolishing New Zealand, 3.5-0.5. The women’s team will meet Sweden in the sixth round.
