By ADRIAN STEWART CO

The Negros Island Region (NIR) Kingsmen turned back Iloilo Kisela Knights in lopsided fashion, 15-6, in the 2023 Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) All-Filipino Conference on Saturday night, February 25.

The Kingsmen barely escaped in the blitz event, 4-3, with David Elorta (Board 1), Bernadette Galas (Board 3) and Rogelio Antonio, Jr. (Board 4) getting the full one point, while Joel Pimentel (Board 5) and Jerich Cajeras (Board 6) settled for a split.

The Negrenses showed their dominance in the rapid event with Elorta, Edsel Montoya (Board 2), Galas, Pimentel, and Ellan Asuela (Board 7) delivering the full two points and Antonio finishing with one point.

“Facing the Iloilo Kisela Knights was always a challenge for us. It is fortunate that we got the better of them this time,” Kingsmen team manager Nayk Segismar said.

“This is a morale-boosting for us heading into our future games,” he said.

The Kingsmen completed a sweep of their Saturday night matches as they later defeated Zamboanga Sultans, 17-4, to stay ahead in the Southern Division standings with a 5-0 record.

The Kingsmen dominated the Sultans in the blitz game, 6-1, with Elorta, Pimentel (Board 2), Galas, Antonio, Ted Ian Montoyo (Board 5), and Xavier John Verdun (Board 7) finishing full points each.

The Negrenses also showed the way in the rapid game, 11-3, via two-pointers each from Pimentel, Galas, Antonio, Montoyo, and Verdun, while Elorta was held to a split by his opponent.

On the other hand, the Kisela Knights had a forgetful evening as they also dropped their second game last Saturday against Toledo-Xigmex Trojans, 14-7, to slump to 3-2 in the standings.

The Ilonggos were still hanging around after the blitz game, which they dropped 3-4, but they were dominated by the Trojans in the rapid game, 10-4, for a rare two-game losing skid.

“The players were still adjusting to our revamped and all-Ilonggo lineup,” Kisela Knights head coach Hubert Canto said.

“We will definitely learn from our mistakes in these twin defeats,” he added./ASC, WDJ