by Marlon Bernardino
TAGAYTAY CITY---Tagaytay-Philippines started strong in the 2013 Asian Cities Chess Team Championship also known as Dubai Cup, pulling off a 4-0 victory against tenth seed Erdenet, Mongolia at the Tagaytay International Convention Center Sunday, here.
Grandmasters Oliver Barbosa, Mark Paragua, John Paul Gomez and Darwin Laylo swept their Mongolian rivals in one of five shutout wins on opening day that put the top-seeded Filipinos among the early leaders in the event hosted by Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, also the Fide Asian Zone 3.3 president and his wife and mayor, Dr. Agnes Tolentino and Tagaytay city council.
Barbosa (ELO 2567) dumped International Master Namkhai Battulga (ELO 2396) after 46 moves of Slav defense on board one to usher in the Filipinos' rampage.
Paragua (2571) trounced Oyunbold Bilegsaikhan (ELO 2071) after 48 moves of Sicilian defense on board two.
Gomez (2511) nipped Choidog Ganbold (2171) after 53 moves of King's Indian defense on board three, while Laylo (2497) crushed Shagdarsuren Turbat (2035) after 28 moves of Gruenfeld defense on board four.
"We hope to perform well in this event," said Gomez, who got his GM title during the 2008 Dresden Olympiad, the reigning Battle of the Grandmasters-National Open champion.
The impressive win put the Filipinos in an early collision against 6th-seeded Sharjah (UAE) in the second round scheduled Monday.
Sharjah (UAE) bannered by GM Salem A.R. Saleh (2567), IM Omar Noaman (2388), FM Alhuwar Jasem (2256) and Abdulla Al Tahir (1967) walloped 15th-seeded Seoul (Korea), 4-0, with FM Lee Sanghoon (2171), CM Kim Inguh (1805), Kim Changhoon (1790) and Wang Chengjia (1934) at the helm.
In other matches, third-seed Shanghai (China) blasted Abu Dhabi (UAE), 4-0; fourth-seeded Philippine Sports Commission-Manila (Philippines) blanked thirteen-seeded Bs Begawan (Brunei), 4-0; fifth-seeded Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) outclassed fourteen-seeded Kuwait (Kuwait), 4-0 and sixth-seeded Sharjah (UAE) beat fifteen-seeded Seoul (Korea), 4-0.
The Philippine Sports Commission-Manila (Philippines) led by Grandmaster Rogelio "Joey" Antonio Jr. (2518), International Masters Rolando Nolte (2447) and Jan Emmanuel Garcia (2396) and Woman International Master Janelle Mae Frayna (2121) trounced Bs Begawan (Brunei) of Hj, Azahari Siti Nur Fatimah (1985), Kamis, Kamarunsalehin (1882), Hj, Azahari Md Aliuddin (2069) and Hj, Sulaiman Amir Fakhry (2049), respectively.
Meanwhile, the Col. Vicente F. Flora Jr.-backed seventh-seeded Philippine Air Force-Pasay City (Philippines) defeated sixteen-seeded Singapore (Singapore), 3-1, with National Masters Onofre Espiritu (2332), Ronald Llavanes (2239) and Raymond Salcedo (2313) providing the victories for the Armed Forces of the Philippines champion squad.
Singaporean Fide Master Tin Jingyao (2160) upset International Master Barlo Nadera (2362) using the black pieces on board one.
Second-seeded Shanghai (China) subdued eleventh-seeded Sri Lanka (Colombo), 3-1; 17th-seeded Dubai (UAE) crushed 8th-seeded Baghdad (Iraq), 3-1, and 9th-seeded Shah Alam (Malaysia) dealt 18th-seeded Chinese-Taipei (Taipei), 3.5-0.5.
The champion team will get $3,000 aside from the Dubai Cup, while the second and third placed teams will receive $2,000 and $1,000, respectively.
Chief Arbiter is Casto "Toti" Abundo, the Asian Chess Federation (ACF) deputy vice president.
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