Lopez, Bernardo lead Philippine chessers in routing US foes

MANILA, Philippines – Henry Lopez and Darry Bernardo posted their second straight victory to power Philippines 1 to a 4-0 bashing of the US Sunday to bounce back to contention after two rounds of the 1st FIDE Online Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities.

Lopez, a multiple Asian and ASEAN Para Games gold medalist, smashed Griffin Mcconnell on second board while Bernardo, a national team discovery out of Far Eastern University, outplayed Pranav Shankar on board three to propel the Filipinos to joint 15th place with Russia 2 with three match points apiece.

A total 14 squads headed by top seed Poland 1 and fourth pick Israel share the lead with four points each.

Reigning world champion Sander Severino redeemed himself from a stinging opening round defeat that resulted to a 2-2 draw by the third-seeded Filipinos against the lower-ranked Canadians in the opening round Saturday by smashing Michael Aigner on top board.

Cheyzer Crystel Mendoza also made up for her loss to Canada by downing Jessica Lauser on board four to complete the shutout win.

But the day belonged to the duo of Lopez and Bernardo, who kept their perfect records with two triumphs each.

And the third-seeded Filipinos, skippered by non-playing James Infiesto, hope to sustain the pace as they were battling Russia 2 at press time.

Philippines 2 could not sustain its 4-0 first round win over Mongolia and was drubbed by powerhouse Russia 1 as Menandro Redor, Arman Subaste, Felix Aguilera and Cheryl Angot lost to Stanislav Babarykin, Andrei Obodchuk, Evgeniy Suslov and Marina Kaydanovich, respectively.

Philippines 2 fell in a big group at 16th spot with two points and was tangling with India 3 in the third round.