THE UST Male Woodpushers fell short of sweeping the Season 87 men’s chess tournaments, settling for silver in the inaugural UAAP blitz chess tournament after succumbing to the FEU Tamaraws, 4-0, at the Adamson Gym on Saturday, April 5.
UST extended its championship streak to four in the standard chess tournament in November before bagging gold in the inaugural rapid chess tournament on March 30.
“Lamang na lamang ‘yong men’s natin, pero natalo rin tayo so it’s anybody’s game talaga,” UST head coach Ronald Dableo told the Varsitarian. “Actually talaga, ang blitz, maiksi oras e, ‘yong accuracy niyan napaka-slim. Kumbaga, may factor din ng luck ‘yan, hindi lang purely skill.”
The top-seeded Male Woodpushers started the day with a dominant 4-0 victory against the fourth-seeded UP Fighting Maroons in the semifinals.
Chester Reyes dominated FIDE Master Stephen Pangilinan on Board 1, while Mark Daluz followed with a 4-0 thrashing of Roderenz Adra on Board 2.
Jan Labog and Lee Roi Palma secured the victory and the finals ticket for UST after defeating Arena Grandmaster Io Calica and Arena FIDE Master Francis Magpily, respectively.
However, the Male Woodpushers couldn’t carry their momentum as they were swept by FEU in the finals, 4-0.
Reyes was outsmarted by eventual UAAP blitz chess MVP Mark Bacojo on Board 1, while Daluz came up short against fellow FIDE Master John Jacutina. Labog succumbed to Dale Bernardo in Board 3, while Palma fell to Istraelito Rilloraza.
Daluz grabbed the gold medal on Board 2, alongside Labog, who also earned gold in Board 3, while Reyes settled for second place on Board 1.
In the women’s division, the UST Lady Woodpushers failed to advance to the finals after falling short against the DLSU Green Woodpushers, 2.5-1.5. They then succumbed to the FEU Lady Tamaraws, 4-0, in the bronze medal match to finish their campaign in fourth.
