CEBU CITY, Philippines — After a stellar start, the Toledo-Xignex Trojans finally ended its winning streak, pegging it at five straight wins, after absorbing its first loss on Wednesday evening in the ongoing Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) third season first conference.
This was after the Trojans split their two scheduled matches with a win and a loss.
They lost to southern division leader Negros Kingsmen,14.5-6.5, but bounced back strong by defeating the Zamboanga Sultans, 16-5.
With the results, the Trojans remained at second place in the standings after a brief hold of the top spot with six wins and one loss which translates to 102.5 points, while the Kingsmen are unbeaten in seven games with 111 points.
Camarines-Iriga Soaring Eagles is at the No. 3 spot with a 5-2 (win-loss) slate followed by former PCAP champions, Iloilo Kisela Knights at the fourth spot with the same record but with a smaller total points. Davao Chess Eagles rounds up the top five teams in the southern division with a 4-3 card.
During the match on Wednesday evening, Toledo impressively swept the blitz round, 7-0.
International Master (IM) Kim Steven Yap defeated National Master (NM) Raymond Salcedo, while team captain Bonn Rainauld Tibod edged NM Carlo Magno Rosaupan. Women’s International Master (WIM) Beverly Mendoza beats Sarah Mae Chua, while IM Rico Mascarinas bested Butch Villavieja. NM Elwin Retanal, Richard Natividad, and Rommel Ganzon completed the Trojans’ lopsided win by defeating NM Joey Albert Florendo, Jordan Gadayan, and Albert Yap, respectively.
They went on to win the rapid round, 9-5, after winning four matches courtesy of Tibod, WIM Mendoza, Natividad, and Ganzon against the same opponents they faced in the blitz round.
In their loss against the Negros Kingsmen, the Trojans, were defeated in the blitz round, 1.5-5.5, and they finished the rapid round with another loss, 5-9.
Grand Master (GM) Rogelio Antonio Jr. led the Kingsmen after winning both his matches against IM Mascarinas.
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