PH falls to Australia
The Philippines yielded to nemesis Australia, 3-1, Friday but remained in quarterfinal contention after eight rounds in the men’s side of the Asian Nations Online Chess Cup.
Grandmaster Mark Paragua averted a shutout by carving out a win over GM Anton Smirnov on Board 1, while GM John Paul Gomez and International Masters Haridas Pascua and Paulo Bersamina all fell by the wayside.
Gomez was the first to succumb at the expense of GM Max Illingworth on Board 3 followed by Pascua and Bersamina to GMs Temur Kuybokarov and Moulthun Ly on Boards 2 and 4, respectively.
The defeat sent the Filipinos from a share of third down to a six-nation group at No. 6 with eight match points.
It was a roller-coaster day for the Agila ng Pilipinas with a fourth-round defeat against Iran, only to bounce back against Mongolia in the fifth that sent them just a point off the pace.