by Ramon Galvan III

The San Juan Predators put up a stellar performance in their Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) Pre-Season Match Up against the Lapu-Lapu City City Naki Warriors with a total score of 19.5-1.5, winning all their games save for two draws.

In Board 1, one of the rated games, GM Oliver Barbosa drew both blitz and rapid games against NM Merben Roque. The rapid game was a 44-move King’s Indian affair that led to a drawn queen vs two knights endgame.

In the blitz game as black, he responded with a Caro-Kann defense that resulted in a rook and bishop vs rook and knight endgame. After 63 moves, it ended with king and knight vs king, an automatic draw. GM Barbosa commented on his familiarity with NM Roque, his former Letran teammate, saying that Roque likely had a prepared line against his game as black.

In Board 2, the other rated game, FM Narquingden Reyes won both games against Bryle Arellano. Reyes won the blitz game after 47 moves of the King’s Indian by taking control of a rook and queen endgame under time pressure by winning a passed pawn.

Meanwhile, the 38-move Caro-Kann rapid game was heading for a draw after a rook and knight endgame until FM Reyes took advantage of a blunder by Arellano who lost his rook to a skewer.

In Board 3, the womens’ game, WIM Jan Jodelyn Fronda won both games against Cristy Cabungcag. WIM Fronda forced Cabungcag into time pressure in both games. She won the 47-move Caro-Kann blitz encounter despite being severely down in material, and waited for an opportunity which came in the form of a blunder that led to a forced mate in 2. She then won after 38 moves of the Reti in the rapid game, aggressively attacking Cabungcag’s kingside and again forcing time pressure.

In Board 4, the seniors’ game, IM Ricardo De Guzman won both games against Odillon Badilles. IM De Guzman ended up 3 pawns up in a rook and knight endgame in the 62-move Modern Defense blitz game which he rode to a win. He then won the rapid game with a checkmate, 28 moves into a Pirc Defense game where he harassed Badilles’ kingside.

In Board 5, the first of the homegrown games, NM Michael Gotel won both games against Romeo Resuera. In the 54-move blitz game, NM Gotel, after responding with the French Defense, secured a piece advantage on move 31 that he never relinquished and dominated the endgame with material. In the 47-move King’s Indian rapid game, NM Gotel temporarily gave up the exchange to take control of the endgame and win with two passed pawns.

In Board 6, the second of the homegrown games, Narquingel Reyes won both games against Neil Gilig, both ending in pawn endgames. Coming in, Reyes knew that Gilig was a tactical specialist, and he aimed to exchange queens early to force strategic games. He won the 46-move Sicilian Keres blitz game after taking control in a king and pawn endgame, winning the opposition and trapping the black king on the queenside to take control of the kingside. He then won the 42-move Closed Sicilian rapid game after creating two passed pawns in a bishop and pawn endgame.

In Board 7, the third of the homegrown games, Narciso Gumila won both games against Aldwin Daculan. Gumila won after 26 moves of the Colle system blitz game despite being down on time, when he took advantage of a blunder and forked Daculan’s king and queen.

Then in the rapid game, Gumila won in 17 moves with the Lion Defense after punishing a blunder and winning a knight.
In the PCAP, each of the 7 players in a match plays 2 games, a blitz game with each player having a total of 3 minutes total to make all moves, plus an additional two seconds after each move, and a rapid game with each player given a total of 15 minutes to make all moves. A win in the blitz game is worth 1 point, and a draw is worth 0.5 points to each player. The rapid games earn 2 points for a win, and 1 point for a draw.

The inaugural PCAP season will officially start on January 16, 2021 and the San Juan Predators will kick off with a North Division battle against the Antipolo Cobras.