Round 8 Round Up: Philippines Beat England 3-1 Chess Olympiad 2012

'Upset' might not be the proper word to describe this win. After all, with how Team Philippines (Open) has been performing so far -- in the last 8 rounds, without regard of their individual ELO ratings, they are acting like a powerhouse team in this Istanbul 2012 World Chess Olympiad.

In Board 1, Wesley So, even with black, held the 70-ELO-points higher Michael Adams of England to a draw.

In Board 2, England's Gawain Jones took as many as 101 moves before he resigned his position against Oliver Barbosa.

In Board 3, Nigel (Short) came short as Eugene (Torre) towered over him.

In Board 4, Mark Paragua managed a draw by threefold repetition.

The final tally, Philippines (3) vs. England (1) [take note of their ELO Ratings in parenthesis]:

Bo.	Philippines	Score	England
1	Wesley So (2652)	1/2-1/2	Michael Adams (2722)
2	Oliver Barbosa (2554)	1-0	Gawain Jones (2653)
3	Eugene Torre (2469)	1-0	Nigel Short (2698)
4	Mark Paragua (2508)	1/2-1/2	Nicholas Pert (2555)

You can replay the games from the following pages:

• Michael Adams vs. Wesley So


• Oliver Barbosa vs. Gawain Jones


• Nigel Short vs. Eugene Torre


• Mark Paragua vs. Nicholas Pert

Or download the PGN.

After Round 8, the Philippines is ranked 6th place, and will be up against the 6th seed China in the 9th round.