By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Iloilo Kisela Knights picked up where they left off and continued their championship quest after dominating the Toledo City Trojans in a sweep, 15-6, 15-6, and advanced to the southern division semifinals of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) season II “Wesley So Cup Conference”.
The Kisela Knights totally outmaneuvered their opponent as they just crushed the City Trojans two games in a row and didn’t allow the squad from Toledo to execute any of their adjustments.
It was a slow start for Iloilo as Toledo fought hard in the Blitz category of the first match to trail by just one point, 4-3.
However, in the Rapid category, the Kisela Knights began to capture the momentum and won six out of the seven playing boards in the category.
GM Hovhannes Gobuzyan, GM Rogelio Antonio Jr., and NM Cesar Mariano led the Ilonggo offensive spree in the first game and replicated it again in their second match.
Toledo tried to shift gears in the second encounter but the experience and flawless performance of the Kisela Knights allowed them to gain the edge to finish with the same score.
With the win, Iloilo will be facing the tough Camarines Soaring Eagles in the semifinals who swept the Mindoro Tamaraws earlier.
