RP Sweeps Round 3

Another won match for the Philippine Men's chess team in the third round of the 40th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey.  With a higher average-rating points, the heavily-favored Philippine team scored all the points against the Kazahkstan team pushing us further up the win-loss standings.

With this win, GM Wesley So and his teammates will be facing defending two-time olympiad champions Armenia with super-GM Levon Aronian on board 1.

Now the real games begin.

Will it be a romantic, blue-moon evening for the Philippine team or will it be a sad, earth shattering defeat for them?

As I write this piece, I think about the people in the southern part of the Philippines, Samar and nearby provinces. Let's hope and pray for the safety of our brothers and sisters. Tsunami Warning Level 3 was raised after a 7.9 earthquake jolted Samar and other neighboring towns.

Be safe!