THE Philippines eked out an inspiring 2.5-1.5 win over No. 48 seed Slovakia in the men’s division but lost to No. 35 Slovenia by the same score in  the  women’s category in the 43rd World Chess Olympiad.

United States-based GM Julio Catalino Sadorra and John Paul Gomez provided  the  much-needed victories for the 53rd-seeded  Filipinos, beating  fellow GMs Christopher Repka and Thomas Petrik on boards one and two.

Sadorra, the  country’s highest-rated player  with an ELO of 2553, whipped  Repka in 37 moves of  the Catalan while Gomez  outmaneuvered  Petrik in 65 moves of the Ruy Lopez.

IM Jan  Emmanuel Garcia escaped with a draw with IM Viktor Gazik in 65  moves of the Dutch  opening on board  three while  FM  Mari  Joseph  Turqueza lost to IM  Martin Nayhevaver in 41 moves of the  Sicilian defense  on board four in  the remaining two matches.

The win served as a fitting follow-up to the  Filipinos’  smashing 4-0  rout of San Marino in the first round  Monday  and  put them in the early  lead with the GM Wesley  So-led  United States and 39 other  countries  with four match points.

The first big test, however,  begin  with the   third-round showdown  against No. 18 seed Croatia, 4-0  winner over the United Arab Emirates and 3.5-.5 victor  over Monaco in the first two rounds.

The Filipinas, on the other hand,  are not as lucky.

The WGM Janelle  Mae Frayna-led team dropped a 1.5-2.5 decision  to Slovenia  one  day  after their 4-0 demolition of Mozambique.

Frayna was the lone Filipina winner against the former Yugoslav republic,  beating WIM Laura Unuk in their first board encounter.

WIM Catherine  Perena-Secopito salvaged a draw against WFM Lara Janselj  on  board two.

WIM Shania Mae Mendoza lost to WGM Jana Krivec  on board three and WIM Marie Antoinette San Diego bowed  to WFM Teja Vidic on board four.

Up next for the 43rd-seeded Filipinas is No. 55 seed Venezuela.

The 10-man  Filipino delegation is supported by the  National Chess Federation of  the Philippines (NCFP), led  by  president Prospero “Butch” Pichay, and the  Philippine  Sports Commission (PSC), headed by  chairman William  “Butch” Ramirez.

France,  led  by  GMs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave  and  Etienne Bacrot, and Netherlands, bannered by GMs Anish Giri and Erwin L' Ami,  completed   4-0  sweeps over Uruguay and Scotland, to lead only five other countries with perfect scores of eight points.

Top  seed  US  settled  for a 2.5-1.5 win over Georgia-3,  Russia agreed to a 3-1 win over Ireland, Germany was held to 3.5-.5 victory over Myanmar, and China agreed to  a 3.5-.5 triumph against Colombia.

Singapore,  now bannered by Filipino GM Bong Villamayor and IM Enrique Paciencia, also took  half  point  from  Romania, .5-3.5.

Villamayor, who now lives in Singapore,  split  the  point with GM Constantin Lupulescu.

There was a  major upset in the women's division.

No. 31 Uzbekistan shocked top seed Russia, 2.5-1.5, with WIM  Nodira Nadirjanova pulling the rug from under WGM Nataliha Pogonina on board four.

Other women's action saw India sweep Venezuela, 4-0; Ukraine edge Turkmenistan, 2.5-1.5;  China outplay Colombia, 3-1;  Azerbaijan blank Belgium, 4-0; Hungary nip FYROM, 2.5-1.5; Vietnam dump ICCD, 4-0; Spain  overcome  Bangladesh, 2.5-1.5;  Netherlands overwhelm Iceland, 3-1; Romania  whip Bolivia, 4-0; Cuba  trounce  Portugal, 4-0, and Armenia outplay Austria, 3-1.

The moves:

Round 2

J. Sadorra vs. C. Repka

1.d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. g3 dxc4 6. Bg2 b5 7. Ne5 Nd5 8. e4 Nxc3 9. bxc3 Bb7 10. Qh5 g6 11. Nxg6 fxg6 12. Qe5 Nd7 13. Qxh8 Qe7 14. h4 Qf7 15. h5 gxh5 16. Bg5 Qg6 17. f4 Kf7 18. Bf3 Bb4 19. cxb4 Rxh8 20. Bxh5 h6 21. O-O-O a5 22. a3 axb4 23. axb4 c3 24. Rh2 Qxh5 25. Rxh5 Ra8 26. Rxh6 c5 27. d5 exd5 28. Rh7+ Kg6 29. Rxd7 cxb4 30. Kc2 Ra2+ 31. Kd3 c2 32. Rc1 b3 33. Rxb7 dxe4+ 34. Kxe4 b2 35. Rh1 Ra4+ 36. Ke5 b1=N 37. Rh6#     1-0

T. Petrik vs. J. Gomez

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf64. d3 d6 5. O-O a6 6. Bxc6+ bxc67. d4 exd4 8. Nxd4 c5 9. Nc6 Qd710. Na5 Be7 11. Nc3 O-O 12. Bf4 Rb813. b3 Re8 14. h3 Bf8 15. Re1 Re616. e5 Ne8 17. Qf3 Rg6 18. Bg3 Qf519. Qxf5 Bxf5 20. Rac1 Re621. Nd5 dxe5 22. Rxe5 Rxe523. Bxe5 Rd8 24. c4 f6 25. Bf4 Be426. Nc3 Ba8 27. Na4 g5 28. Be3 Ng729. Bxc5 Ne6 30. Bxf8 Kxf8 31. c5 Nf432. Rc4 Bd5 33. Rb4 Nxg2 34. Rd4 Nh435. Rd1 Nf3+ 36. Kg2 Ne5+37. Kg3 Ke7 38. Nc3 Be639. Rxd8 Kxd8 40. b4 f5 41. a3 f4+42. Kh2 h6 43. Ne2 Nf3+ 44. Kg2 Ne1+45. Kh2 Nf3+ 46. Kg2 Ne1+47. Kh2 Nc2 48. Nc6+ Kd749. Ned4 Nxa3 50. Ne5+ Ke751. h4 Kf6 52. Nec6 Bd753. hxg5+ hxg5 54. Nb8 Bc855. Nbc6 Nc4 56. Na7 Bd7 57. c6 Be658. Nb3 Nd6 59. Nc5 Bc4 60. Nb7 Ne461. Kg1 g4 62. Na5 Be2 63. Nb3 g364. f3 Bxf3 65. Nd4 Ng5     0-1