Antonio tops GM chess, returns to Olympiad

MANILA, Philippines – Grandmaster Joey Antonio is returning to the Chess Olympiad this year after a long absence.

Antonio, who has played in the prestigious biennial meet nine times before but missed out on the last four editions due to illness and other reasons, showed he still has it and topped the 2016 Battle of Grandmasters National Chess Championships yesterday.

The 54-year-old Antonio posted five wins and eight draws for 18 points after 13 rounds of action to win the national crown – his 13th overall – and lead the qualifiers to the Philippine squad to the Sept. 1-14 Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Antonio carded the same 18-point tally as GM Jayson Gonzales but took the top honors by virtue of his victory over the latter in Round 10. He capped his campaign with a draw with IM Haridas Pascua in a 30-move Nimzo Indian encounter yesterday. Gonzales beat FM Narquinden Reyes in the final round after 26 moves of their English Opening encounter. 

It was a return to form for Calapan pride Antonio, who took a nearly five-year hiatus due to gall bladder and heart ailment.

“Maganda-ganda na ngayon ang kundisyon ko kaya nakapaglaro ako nang maganda (I’m in good health now so I was able to play well here),” Antonio said.

The veteran chesser said during his inactivity, he managed to keep himself sharp by studying games and playing online, beating some GMs along the way.

Antonio (2474), Gonzales (2388) and IM Paulo Bersamina (2378), who finished third with 17 points, took the team spots to the Olympiad. Two more players will be seeded into the team later by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines, with US-based GM Julio Catalino Sadorra, the top ranked Filipino at 2531, expected to be in.