Tuesday, October 5, 2010
AN experiment by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines to select players to the Olympiad team on the basis of ELO rating ended dismally as the country posted its worst performance under the Swiss System format.
Dragged down by a 2.5-1.5 loss to Estonia in the 11th and last round of this biennial event, the Philippines slid to 50th place (out of 113 countries) with 12 match points with five wins, two draws and four losses.
“The players didn’t have to fight for their usual places in the Olympiad team unlike before, and obviously they did not prepare as well as they should especially those manning the higher boards,” a federation source told the Manila Standard in a phone interview. “They should reconsider this policy.”
However, another source explained that the Swiss System, while good for determining the champion, is not a true reflection of a team’s strength in the lower places. “The pairings are sometimes like lottery. You may get a weak team or a strong team in your next round.”
For the second straight Olympiad, the Philippines did not field one of its strongest players in its team.
In 2008, Eugene Torre skipped the national championship, which was to select members of the Dresden Olympiad, but won the GMA Cup.
In the 2010 Olympiad, Joey Antonio was disciplined for not returning home to compete in the Campomanes Memorial Cup, and the Philippines lost its second strongest player.
The women’s team finished 44th place (out of 113 countries) with a draw against Brazil, marking the second time they finished higher than its male counterpart in an Olympiad…
Two draws by Wesley So to former world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria and former world championship challenger Alexei Shirov of Spain underscored the 16-year-old grandmaster’s growing potential and consoled the Philippines’ woeful showing.
Source: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com
It’s stupid not to include Antonio on the team. He’s their #2.
Perhaps. But I don’t think it would have made *that* much difference. Antonio has played on recent Olympiad teams but we’ve never had that Top 20 finish. We’ve always been within ten places of our original seed.
…That much difference?
what are you talking about?
In a ten game match, it will be a miracle if Bituin can win even 1 game against Antonio!
… those manning the upper boards…
What a silly idiot comment!
Isnt he satisfied with Wesley who got no defeat at board 1?