By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Iloilo Kisela Knights are currently one of the hottest teams in the 2022 Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) tournament after notching their sixth consecutive win.
Fresh off a dominant Day 6 outing, the Kisela Knights showed no signs of fatigue and continued their winning ways against the Laguna Heroes, 16-5, and the Isabela Knight of Alexander, 13-8.
The Kisela Knights replicated their strong opening against Laguna and immediately took control of the first seven playing boards in the blitz category.
Eager to get the job done and provide a huge cushion in the last three boards, NM Cesar Mariano, NM Rolly Parondo Jr., NM John Michael Silvederio, and NM Fritz Bryan Porras led the Iloilo onslaught that helped them close the show in dominant fashion.
In their second match, the Kisela Knights went up against a resilient Isabela team that didn’t back down from the challenge and even led in the blitz category, 4-3.
However, the Kisela Knights were quick to respond and quickly erased their early deficit when they mounted a terrific 10-4 run in the rapid category.
Huge wins from Karl Viktor Ochoa, GM Rogelio Antonio Jr., and Horizon Villanueva propelled the Kisela Knights to their sixth straight win and another sweeping night of chess in the 2022 PCAP tourney.
Their back-to-back wins helped them secure the no.1 spot in the Southern division with 187 points followed by Davao with 173.5 points and Negros with 169 points.
Meanwhile, in the Northern group, the dominant Pasig City King Pirates remain at the top of their division and the tournament with 195 points.
