Northern skirmishes in Wesley So Cup: Manila-Caloocan, San Juan-Laguna

MANILA, Philippines – The top four teams of the Northern Division of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines will be trading blows and jockeying for position when the Wesley So Cup resumes Wednesday, June 30.

The San Juan Predators have pretty much led for the first half of the season and have posted a league-best 23-2. Only Caloocan and Camarines have managed to trip the Predators.

San Juan has plastered its foes by an average of 10 points per game; a league best. They lost their two matches by an average of two points. They have a 13-match win streak dating back to last May 26 when the Caloocan LoadManna Knights slipped past them, 12-9.

They face a Laguna Heroes team that has hit some road bumps en route to a 20-5 record.

When these two sides clashed last May 22 in the first round, San Juan emerged 13.5-7.5 winners. When they met on the board, Laguna’s 18-year old Ukrainian Grandmaster Kirill Shevchenko was not yet in tow. Since joining the Heroes, All-Filipino Cup champions, Shevchenko has posted a 26-2-0 record.

San Juan, on the other hand, boasts of Ukrainian GM Viktor Moskalenko, who has a 31-5-8 record heading into this match. 

The two teams collide in the second game of the Wednesday double header.

The Wesley So Cup will serve on a hot plate for its first matches, the battle between the Manila Indios Bravos and the Caloocan LoadManna Knights.

Although both teams tote a 21-4 slate, Caloocan moved up to second spot, the position occupied by Manila for the last several weeks when the Indios Bravos were beaten by Laguna last June 26.

The LoadManna Knights look to repeat their first round feat (May 19) when they bounced the Indios Bravos, 14.5-6.5. In that import-less match up, Caloocan swept Manila, 6-0 in blitz play that served as the difference as Manila came storming back in rapid play, 6-8. 

Now, Caloocan has Malaysian IM Jimmy Liew (27-11-8) while Manila has Indonesian IM Yosef Taher (21-4-3). 

Fans can view the Wesley So Cup on the Facebook pages of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines and each team’s own page.