Bersamina Leads PH chess team in 46th Chess Olympiad

After eleven grueling rounds of classical chess, the Philippine Men’s chess team finished 3rd in the Group B of the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The event was held from September 15-27 2026.

The team finished 32nd overall among 150 participating countries, an impressive feat considering that they were initially ranked 57th.

International Master Paulo Bersamina played all the rounds of the tournament and led team stats with 8 points out of a possible 11. “The hours of calculation training were what helped me get into tiptop condition,” said IM Bersamina, who has already joined 4 standard tournaments this year. He is chasing his third and final Grandmaster norm, and once he does, he becomes a GM. Bersamina works full time as a scholastic and a personal chess coach, and he published chess books on the side. “I also need to train more consistently before these standard format tournaments, but it is challenging to balance training with actual work,” he added.

IM Jan Emmanuel Garcia produced 7.5 out of 10 games played. Veteran Grandmaster Darwin Laylo had 5 points out of a possible 6, and fellow GM Daniel Quizon had 4 out of 8. IM Michael Concio, who sat on board 1, finished the event with 6 points out of a possible 9.

The squad was coached by none other than the legend himself, Asia’s first Grandmaster Eugene Torre. When asked what made the team play better compared to the last olympiad, he said that it was their “excellent rapport, harmony, and teamsmanship.” “Everyone was willing to play whatever role the team needed.” he quipped.

The goal has always been to crack the top 20, where the world’s best chess-playing countries swim with their 2600-2700 super Grandmasters. The best performance any Filipino chess team ever had at the Olympiad was during 1988 in Thessaloniki, Greece, where the Torre-led team placed 7th. When asked if we can replicate that performance in a world where the game of chess has changed so much because of AI, he gave a simple, direct, and pragmatic answer: “We should focus on discipline, preparation, practice, physical conditioning, and healthy nutrition.” Yes, the old school works in the age of monster AI chess engines.

The Filipino woodpushers were grouped in the B division on account of their ELO ratings, the player ranking system that FIDE uses in its official sanctioned events. The Filipino team was clearly punching above its weight class, as it finished way ahead of a number of Group A powerhouses such as Norway, Bulgaria, Denmark, and Austria.

The host country, Uzbekistan, also won the event. Top seed and fan favorite Team USA finished fourth behind India and Germany.