By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Iloilo Kisela Knights punched their third-straight semifinals appearance in the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) playoffs after taking down the Toledo City Trojans twice.
Coming off two split outings in the San Miguel Corporation-Ayala Land Premier Association Cup playoffs, the Kisela Knights were locked-in against Toledo in the quarterfinals, 12-9, and a 3-0 Armageddon win in their second match.
It was a tightly-contested series against the Trojans as the Kisela Knights weren’t able to pull away with their average margin of 5 points in both their wins.
In the first match, Iloilo only took a one-point lead in the blitz category off wins from Karl Viktor Ochoa, WFM Cherry Ann Mejia, Fritz Bryan Porras, and NM John Michael Silvederio.
The rapid category was also a nip-and-tuck affair as Toledo was able to hang on and provide a good fight with two playing boards won but the strong finish in the last four boards of Iloilo provided the edge and the win.
Toledo shifted gears in the next match as they were able to force a tiebreaker Armageddon match against the Kisela Knights.
However, Iloilo still prevailed in the tiebreaker and swept all three playing boards courtesy of spectacular performances from GM Rogelio Antonio Jr., Porras, and Ochoa.
The series win against Toledo City marked the Kisela Knights’ third-straight semifinals appearance since joining the first conference of the league.