Philippines Team 1 prevailed over Russia Team 2, 3-1, to barge into the top 10 for the first time after three rounds of the 1st FIDE Online Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities Monday.
World champion Sander Severino, Henry Lopez and Darry Bernardo downed Yuri Meshkov, Ruslan Draganov and Alexey Pakhomov on boards one to three to seal the Filipinos’ second straight win and a share of seventh place with Israel and Poland Team 2 with five match points each.
Cheyzer Crystal Mendoza was the lone casualty for the squad after falling to Polina Taranenko on board four.
The PH team, seeded third out of 61 participants from 45 countries and skippered by non-playing James Infiesto, was playing the fourth-seeded Israel in the fourth round at press time and eyeing nothing less than another win that would push further up the standings.
Philippines Team 2, meanwhile, failed to cash in on its winning chances and settled for a 2-2 draw with India Team 3 after Menandro Redor was unnerved by poor internet connection and misplayed a winning game into a standoff with Ashvin Makwana on board one.
Max Dave Tellor smashed Udupa Krishna on board three while Felix Aguilera halved the point with Chakraborty Megha on board two.
Cheryl Angot lost to Vivek Watpade on the last board.
The team is in an 11-country logjam at No. 25 with three points and is currently battling Brazil.