Severino stars anew as Filipino chessers rip Serbians to stay unbeaten

MANILA, Philippines — FIDE Master Sander Severino continued to show top form as he powered the Philippines to a 3.5-.5 demolition of Serbia 2 Wednesday to remain unscathed and in the title hunt in the 1st FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities in Belgrade, Serbia.

Severino, a former world champion for the physically disabled, wielded the Caro-Kann Defense like a magic wand and totally outplayed and overwhelmed Mile Bjelanovic in 44 moves on Board One to highlight the Filipino’s decimation of the Serbians.

Thanks to the triumph, the Philippines, which is being backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, shared the lead with top seed Poland and traditional powerhouse India with six match points apiece halfway into this six-round tournament.

Also pulling off equally impressive triumphs were playing skipper James Infiesto, who smothered Luka Bulatovic in 57 moves of a Bishop’s Opening on Board Three, and Darry Bernardo, who pulled off a 42-move winner over Vladan Petrovic of another Caro-Kann duel on board four.

Henry Lopez capped the win with a 42-move draw against Stefan Mitrovic on Board Two.

The Filipinos was tangling fancied Poles in the fourth round at press time with hopes of essaying another upset and fueling the former’s ambitious bid of emerging the champions in the event’s historic first staging.

And Severino, who remained unbeaten with three wins, is expected to be in front of the battle.

“Hindi pa tapos ang laban, pero pipilitin namin ito para sa bansa natin,” said Severino, a 37-year-old Silay, Negros Occidental native who was diagnosed with muscle dystrophy, or degeneration of the bones, at an early age.