PHNOM PENH—Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Janelle Mae Frayna and Woman International Master (WIM) Shania Mae Mendoza assured the Philippines of a silver medal on Wednesday in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games ouk chaktrong (Cambodian chess) women’ doubles 60-minute at the Royal University of Phnom Penh.
A 4-1 win-loss record in the knockout preliminaries netted for the Filipina duo a 3.5 tally, the same points held by Myanmar and Malaysia.
This—women’s team coach and National Chess Federation of the Philippines executive director GM Jayson Gonzales said—has turned the tandem’s coming seventh-round battle against Pen Khemrareaksmey and Tep Sokratha of the host country non-bearing based on computations.
“It’s sure ball for silver,” Gonzales said. “If a tie or even a thjree-way tie occurs after the last round, the first tiebreaker is winner-over-the-other rule,” said Gonzales of the novel event played for the first time in the 11-nation, biennial sportsfest.
The only setback of the team came Tuesday evening at the hands of Nu Hong An Ton and Than Phuong Thao Pham of Vietnam, 0.5-1-5, in the sixth and penultimate round.
Before this, Frayna and Mendoza, both 24, dumped Burmese Soe Moe Khaing and Su Su Hlaing on opening day; clipped Malaysia’s Chua Jia Ten and Nur Faicaq Aminuddin in the second, 1.5-0.5; before blanking Thais Sarocha Chuemsakul and Sirikan Charoen, 1.5-0.0, in the third.
The tandem drew a bye in the fourth, before whipping Laos’ Houanchanmone Phonesavanh and Inthavong Maly in the fifth stage, 1-0.
The men’s side, however, was not able to keep up with the women’s.
Asia’s first GM and playing-coach Eugene and GMs Joey Antonio and Darwin Lalylo fell in men’s triples 60-minute to Vietnamese Nham Tam Hoang Quoc Dung Tran at The Anh Duong, 2.5-0.5.
National Master Edmundo yielded to Naing Myo Lin of Myanmar in the men’s singles 5-minute and Gatos 60-minute events.