Toledo Trojans split matches in PCAP All-Filipino Conference

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CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Toledo Xignex Trojans split their back-to-back matches in the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) All-Filipino Conference held before the Holy Week break earlier this week.

The Trojans pulled off a hard-fought victory against the Pasig City King Pirates, 12-9, but fell short against last year’s Wesley So Cup champions, the Manila Load Manna Knights, 7-14, in the inter-division round.

Despite the split results, Toledo remains in command of the Southern Division standings with a 13-2 (win-loss) record and 236 accumulated points. The Bacolod Blitzers are hot on their heels with a 10-5 record, following their recent win over the Quezon City Simba’s Tribe.

Toledo narrowly edged Pasig City in their encounter. The Trojans dropped the blitz round, salvaging only two victories from Woman FIDE Master (WFM) Cherry Ann Mejia and International Master (IM) Joel Pimentel, who defeated Rowelyn Acedo and Narciso Gumila, respectively.

Toledo’s top board, FIDE Master (FM) Ellan Asuela, was held to a draw by Sherwin Tiu in the blitz but bounced back strong in the rapid round, securing a crucial win over Tiu.

The Trojans took the rapid round, 9-5, to seal the match. Also delivering wins in the rapid round were IM Pimentel and Diego Abraham Caparino, who bested Narciso and Jerome Villanueva. Pasig’s lone rapid victory came from Sherily Cua against WFM Mejia.

However, against the powerhouse Manila Load Manna Knights, the Trojans suffered a tough loss. They narrowly dropped the blitz round, 3-4, despite IM Paulo Bersamina’s upset victory over Grandmaster (GM) Mark Paragua.

Carlos Edgardo Garma and IM Pimentel helped avoid a blitz sweep with key victories in that round.

Manila eventually overpowered Toledo in the rapid round, 10-4, with only IM Kim Steven Yap and Garma managing to notch wins for the Trojans.