Grandmaster Joey Antonio captured the gold medal in the blitz event in the 33rd FIDE World Senior Chess Championship in Gallipoli, Italy on Thursday, Oct. 23.
The 63-year-old Antonio finished with identical 7 points along with compatriot FIDE Master Mario Mangubat and International Master Alexander Reprintsev of Ukraine, but wound up on top of the leaderboard after tiebreaks were applied.
Mangubat settled for the silver, while Reprintsev bagged the bronze.
“Our sacrifices have paid off. We are able to put the Philippines in the limelight again for this worthy achievement,” said Antonio.
“This proved once again that the Filipino can be at par with the world’s best chess athletes. And with ample training and preparation, we can even become world champion,” he added.
Another Filipino, IM Jose Efren Bagamasbad, finished 17th with 4.5 points.
Antonio, however, remains in the hunt for more accolades when he competes in the Standard event. He seeks to surpass his runner-up finish in the 2017 edition also held in Italy.
Playing black in the third round, Antonio drew with Mongolia’s Duudei Khurelbaatar after 33 moves of a Caro-Kann defense to slightly improve to 2.5 points in the 50+ category.
Mangubat, for his part, also halved the point with IM Victor Manuel Vehi Bach of Spain after 20 moves of a French Defense for 2.5 points, while Bagamasbad toppled Olle Algars of Sweden in 63 moves of an English Opening for 2 points in the 65-over category.
