Chess | Josh Almonte
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Toledo Xignex Trojans returned to their winning ways with back-to-back sweeps in the ongoing Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) All-Filipino Conference after routing their southern division rivals on Saturday night, April 26.
The Trojans dismantled both the Iloilo Kisela Knights and the Bacolod Blitzers in their two-game schedule, tightening their grip on the No. 1 spot in the southern division with a 16-3 (win-loss) record.
Their impressive performance also ended a string of split results from their previous two-game matches against northern division teams.
Against Iloilo, the Trojans delivered a commanding 17-4 victory, led by International Master (IM) Joel Banawa, who dominated Board 1 by sweeping Lloyd Lanciola in both the blitz and rapid rounds. Toledo posted a lopsided 6-1 score in the blitz and continued their dominance with an 11-3 tally in the rapid games.
On Board 2, FIDE Master (FM) Ellan Asuela defeated Erol Parondo, while Woman FIDE Master (WFM) Cherry Ann Mejia prevailed over Rhea Jean Rarols on Board 3, contributing crucial points to the Trojans’ emphatic win.
In their second match, Toledo outclassed Bacolod, 14.5-6.5. Unlike Iloilo, the Blitzers showed some resistance in the blitz round, where they only trailed 2.5-4.5. However, the Trojans proved too strong in the rapid games, outscoring Bacolod, 10-4.
IM Banawa once again led the charge, sweeping Danny Mangao on Board 1. FM Asuela mirrored his teammate’s success by also clinching twin victories against Ian Cris Henry Udani on Board 2, making them the only Toledo players to score perfect rounds in both matches.