EUGENE Torre at 64 years old keeps rolling along.
His dour defense boosted the Philippines to a 3.5-.5 triumph over Costa Rica, pushing the Filipinos to 43rd place after the fourth round Monday in the 42nd Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijian.
Torre kept his unbeaten record of three wins and one draw, the best among the Filipinos.
The women’s team settled for a 2-2 draw with Canada after a rousing attacking triumph by rookie Shania Mae Mendoza gave the Filipinas an early lead. The Filipinas are in 44th place after four rounds in this 11-round Swiss System team event.
The men’s team, now flushed with two straight wins, face South Africa in the fifth round on Tuesday evening.
Ino Sadorra, cleared by doctors, mans top board, and teener Paulo Bersamina takes the night off.
Sadorra, according to team captain James Infiesto in a Facebook message, had headaches after the second round, where he drew his match against Paraguay. He was sent to a hospital, where he was examined and underwent blood tests, said Infiesto.
The women’s team faces off with Algeria in the fifth round with skipper Jayson Gonzales sticking his lineup with grandmaster candidate Janelle Mae Frayna, Jodilyn Fronda, Catherine Secopito and Mendoza.
Though John Paul Gomez and Paulo Bersamina gave the Philippines a 2-0 lead against Costa Rica, Torre was in trouble in his rook endgame against Gonzalez Acosta Bernal, who had a seemingly unstoppable passed pawn on the a-file.
But Torre found a plan to check Bernal’s check with his rook and stymie his foe’s plan to escort the a-pawn to the queening square.
When Torre forced the draw after 64 moves of a Slav Defense, Rogelio Barcenilla Jr. outblitzed Leonardo Valdez Romero for the final score.
Mendoza, playing white, pushed her kingside pawns against the Sicilian Defense of Maili-Jade Quellet and began to demolish her foe’s kingside. She had a rook for Quellet’s knight with minor pieces on the board when her opponent gave up on the 48th move.
