Iloilo clinches Southern division finals ticket after sweeping Toledo in semis

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

The Iloilo Kisela Knights are one series away from reaching the grand finals of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) tournament after sweeping the Toledo City Trojans in their semifinals clash.

Everything fell into place for the Kisela Knights as the tough Trojans gave them a scare during their first game after both teams ended up in a tie, 10.5-10.5.

The Armageddon format was then used to break the deadlock where you have to send three players in five minutes of quick-paced chess.

Iloilo managed to win the Armageddon tiebreaker, 2-1, to extend their PCAP winning streak to an impressive 16 games.

After the thrilling first match, the Kisela Knights quickly read how Toledo played and deployed their necessary counters to complete the sweep in the second match, 15.5-5.5

Iloilo immediately led from the get-go and had a 4.5 score in the Blitz category. Soon as the Rapid category took place, it was showtime for the Kisela Knights after completely dominating all seven boards.

GM Joey Antonio Jr., Karl Viktor Ochoa, Cherry Ann Mejia, Cesar Mariano, Dennis Bernas, and NM John Michael Silvederio headed the Iloilo attack.

With the win, the Kisela Knights will be facing the Camarines Soaring Eagles in the Southern division finals.