TAGAYTAY — ASEAN Para Games gold medalist Israel Peligro pulled off the biggest upset win in the 3rd Asian Chess Championship for Players with Disabilities, beating No. 3 seed Axadxon Kimsanboyev of Uzbekistan in the second round here Wednesday, Dec. 3.
Peligro played almost flawlessly with the white pieces to roll back the higher-rated and more-experienced Uzbek champion ( ELO 2028) in the prestigious tournament being held in this popular city noted for its cool weather and breathtaking scenery.
“Masaya ako naka-two wins in a row na. Sana magtuloy-tuloy ito,” said the 37-year-old visually-impaired campaigner from Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, who is best remembered for winning the gold medals in the Asian Championships in Indonesia in 2018 and ASEAN tournament in Cambodia in 2023.
The 10th-seeded Peligro (ELO 1725) won over compatriot Altheo Nazareno in the opening round.
Up next for Peligro is second seed Alimzhan Ayapov of Kazakhstan, who swept his first two assignments against Viet Le Van of Vietnam and Menandro Redor.
Both Peligro and Ayapov are the only players with perfect scores of two points in the nine-round tournament organized by the Asian Chess Federation in cooperation with the Tagaytay Chess Club, Philippine Para Chess Association and the Tagaytay City government.
Top seed Darry Bernardo (ELO 2066) and AGM Henry Lopez (ELO 2004) battled to a fighting draw in an all-Filipino showdown.
National team mainstay AIM Arman Subaste also held his ground and split the point with No. 4 seed FM Sirojiddin Zaynidinov of Uzbekistan.
In other notable results, Felix Aguilera toppled Erlan Nurhayev of Kazakhstan, Azizbek Safarov of Uzbekistan clobbered Francis Ching, Anthony Abogado trounced Viet Le Van of Vietnam and Rofolfo Sarmiento downed Shreesh Kurjank of Vietnam.
In the women’s division, Cheyzer Mendoza outwitted fellow national team standout Cheryl Angot to share the early lead with four other players with two points
Mendoza, the highest-rated female player with an ELO of 1749, humbled Natalya Gorokhova of Kazakhstan in the first round Tuesday.
Joining Mendoza with two points are Maria Katrina Mangawang, and Kyla Jane Langue of the Philippines and Nguyen Thi Hong and Tran Ngoc Loan of Vietnam, who dispatched their respective opponents.
Mangawang defeated Sakchai Siripimon of Thailand, Langue outclassed Natalya Gorokhova of Kazakhstan, Hong humbled Aiganym Kambarova of Kazakhstan and Loan outwitted Phan Thi Huong of Vietnam.
The tournament resumes with two rounds each from Dec. 4-6, before the ninth and final round is played on Dec. 7
The awarding ceremony will follow after the championship round.
At stake are trophies for the champions and medals for the top three in the visually, physically, and hearing impaired divisions.
Direct FM title will also be given to the champion, according to Infiesto, also the head coach of the national para chess team.
