Buto tops PSC-NCFP Luzon leg

Al Basher Buto topped his older and more experienced opponents to claim the Luzon leg of the Philippine Sports Commission-National Chess Federation of the Philippines selection tournament last Thursday.

Conducted online in a span of three days and played with a rapid time control of 15 minutes with a 10-second increment, the 11-year-old prodigy netted eight victories in his nine matches, capped off by defeating Janmyl Tisado to secure the title.

Seen by some as the next iteration of Wesley So, the veteran age group internationalist also beat Jose Piro Caro, Joemel Narzabal, Marlon Constantino, Alfredo Balquin, Jr., Juan Samson Guillermo Cantela, Jerish John Velarde, and Mark James Marcellana.

Joseph Mendoza II handed Buto his only defeat in this leg during the second round.

Tisado had the chance to secure the victory with a draw, but the loss to Buto puts him in second place with 7.5 points.

Neil Ari Magnaye Merilles also finished with 7.5 points, but finished in third. Rounding out the top ten are Marcellana, Ivan Travis Cu, Adrian Basilgo, Daniel John Lemi, Israel Landicho, Cedric Daniel Macato, and Jan Darryl Bautista.

Outstanding participants from this leg will earn a spot in the semifinals, currently scheduled on May 11-13.

The tournament will resume with the Visayan leg on April 13-15 and the Mindanao leg a week later. Those who survive the semifinals will meet in the grand finals which will take place from July 2-4 and will utilize both online and face-to-face matches. Outstanding finishers will be integrated into the national team, per tournament director GM Jayson Gonzales.

Interested participants can still register for free, and for any queries, can contact either Michelle Yaon (0910-3726152) or Susan Neri (0933-5505019).

NCFP kicks off Age Group tourney

Even with the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Chess Federation of the Philippines is ready for competitive chess in 2021 with the upcoming National Age Group Chess Championships, starting off with the Marinduque Southern Luzon leg this weekend.

NCFP president Butch Pichay shares, "The Youth Championships are among the NCFP’s main programs and I am so elated because we are able to still hold these events amid the COVID-19 pandemic. I hope these tournament will galvanize the zeal of our young chess players."

Hosted by the province of Marinduque through provincial board members John Pelaez and Verlie Quindoza, the online competition will utilize the Tornelo chess platform and the ten-minute, five-second increment time control. To ensure its readiness, a trial event is scheduled on Thursday at 8pm.

On Saturday, the Under-16, Under-18, and Under-20 divisions will be on display, with the Under-8, Under-10, Under-12, and Under-14 taking their turn on Sunday. Registration is free, and is still open for NCFP members.

Outstanding finishers will earn a berth into the National Age Group semifinals in May. Do well there and a chance at the Grand Finals looms in June, which could potentially be done face-to-face depending on the pandemic situation.

Interested participants can check out this post on the NCFP's Facebook page:

2021 National Age Group takes off The National Chess Federation of the Philippines thru it's Chairman/ President,...

Posted by National Chess Federation of the Philippines - NCFP on Monday, March 15, 2021

They can also contact the following for further inquiries: 

Boys: Michelle Yaon (0910-372615)

Girls: Susan Neri (0933-5505019) 

NCFP assistant executive director (Southern Luzon) Dr. Fred Paez (0921-2728172)

Pilipinas with contrasting World Chess Olympiad results against South American opposition

The Filipino chess contingent faced off against South American opposition in the eighth round of the 43rd World Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia, with contrasting results for the men and women.

The ladies bowed to higher-seeded Argentina on Tuesday night, 1.5 to 2.5, dropping them to just outside the top 40.

Both Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna and Woman International Master Catherine Secopito dropped their respective assignments against IM Carolina Lujan and WIM Maria Florencia Fernandez.

With WIM Bernadette Galas sharing the point with WIM Marisa Zuriel, it ensured that the matchup would end in the Argentine's favor. Galas had the chance to snatch the win after winning a Queen for a rook and bishop, but the match-up eventually ended in a draw as a result of that missed opportunity.

WIM Marie Antoinette San Diego provided the only win for the Pinays, defeating WIM Ayelen Martinez at Board 3.

The results moves the Philippines in to a tie for 45th place in the women's division with nine points.

As for the men, they managed to keep their winning run going with a 3-1 victory over Uruguay to move them into a share of 33rd spot with ten points.

A couple of points came from victories by GM Julio Catalino Sadorra and IM Haridas Pascua, defeating GM Andres Rodriguez Vila and FIDE Master Rafael Muniz, with GM John Paul Gomez and IM Jan Emmanuel Garcia halving the point with FM Nicolas Lopez Azambuja and IM Luis Ernesto Rodi, respectively.

The WCO campaign is funded by part by the Philippine Sports Commission and has secured the sanction from National Chess Federation of the Philippines chair Butch Pichay.

Racasa leads Filipino chessers' title run at ASEAN+ tourney

On Sunday night, Antonella Berthe Racasa claimed the standard girls Under-12 title in the ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships that took place at the Royal Mandaya Hotel.

Racasa did her part by beating ertswhile co-leader Roilanne Marie Alonzo in the ninth and final round to finish with 6.5 points, whilst fellow co-leaders in Vietnamese pawn pushers Bui Ngoc Phuong Nghi, Nguyen Hoang Tha Ngoc, and Nguyen Phuc Yen Nhi were unable to match her win on the final round to give her the division and a Woman FIDE Master title.

Bui lost to compatriot Nguyen Thi Mai Lan, while Nguyen Hoang drew with Kimberly Colaste and Nguyen Phuc drew with Francesca Lagro.

The 11-year old from San Roque, Marikina finished half-a-point ahead of Nguyen Thi, Nguyen Hoang, and Nguyen Phoc in this event, which is organized by Chess Events International, sanctioned by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines, bankrolled by the Philippines Sports Commission, and backed by the Davao City local government.

To escape with the victory, she ended her tourney by snatching three wins and a draw in the last four rounds, which included an eight round win over the top-seeded Bui, bucking losses in two of the first four rounds.

Antonella, is the daughter of Robert, who is the father of memory sports in the Philippines, credits her father in helping her win the title, sharing that he "taught me to always never give up and always stand up when I fall."

Securing title wins as well as International Master Paulo Bersamina and WFM Shania Mendoza in their respective Under-20 divisions, Dale Bernardo in the Under-18 division, Ronald Canino in the Open Under-16 division and Kaye Lalaine Regidor in the Under-10 girls' division.

Bersamina drew with fellow IM John Marvin Miciano to end his campaign at 7.5 points, while the Olympiad-bound Mendoza bested Laila Camel Nadera to also end up at 7.5 points. Aside from the title, she also secures a WIM title and a WGM norm in the process.

Bernardo drew with Aeron Keife Charles Sinining to end his campaign with seven points, which matches the total of FEU standout John Merill Jacutina, who defeated Le Nguyen Khoi Nguyen in the final round. However, Jacutina lost to Bernardo in the second round to lose the tiebreaker.

Canino also ended up tied atop his division alongside Vietnamese pawn pushers Pham Phu Vinh and Bui Duc Huy, but had the superior tiebreaks to claim the win and the FM title.

Regidor beat Mecel Angela Gadut in the final round to claim her division with seven points.

Bersamina, Mendoza at cusp of clinching ASEAN+ titles

Butch Pichay of the NCFP

International Master Paulo Bersamina and Woman FIDE Master Shania Mae Mendoza secured contrasting results as they close in on their respective Under-20 division titles after the eighth round of play in the ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships at the Royal Mandaya Hotel in Davao City yesterday.

Bersamina defeated Sarri Subahani to net his seventh point, one ahead of FIDE Master Azarya Jodi Setyaki of Indonesia.  He will need at least a draw against top seed IM John Marvin Miciano to clinch the title.

Setyaki drew with 14-year old prodigy Daniel Quizon in this round.

Mendoza drew with Marife dela Torre to hike her total to 6.5 points, which half-a-point ahead of hometown native Ella Grace Moulic, who beat Zsuzsa Grace Tabudlong to secure her sixth point. She will need to beat Laila Camel Nadera in the final round to clinch her division.

In the other divisions, Dale Bernardo beat Ernesto Canete to retain the Under-18 division lead at 7.5 points, half-a-point ahead of John Merill Jacutina, who beat Carl Zirex Sato.

As for the Under-16 category, Ronald Canino moved ahead of FM Alekhine Nouri with six points after the former defeated Vietnamese FIDE Master Pham Phu Vinh and the latter losing to Christin Marcelo Olaybal.

In the girls' Under-12 Antonella Berthe Racasa joined four other players for the lead at 5.5 points by stunning Bui Ngoc Phuong Ngi of Vietnam.

In addition, Ruelle Canino and Al-Basher Buto kept their division lead amidst suffering losses to compatriot Kaye Lalaine Regidor and Nguyen Khanh Lam of Vietnam, respectively. The former at 6.5 points still has a half-a-point lead over Regidor in the girls' Under-10 division, while the latter shares the lead alongside Vietnamese pawn pusher Nguyen Vuong Tung Lam, who beat Nambiar Aaray of India to move atop the Under-8 division.

The tournament is organized by Chess Events International and sanctioned by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines. It is bankrolled by the Philippine Sports Commission and backed by the Davao City local government.

Meanwhile, yesterday also saw the election of NCFP president Butch Pichay as the new ASEAN Chess Federation president, with Filipino Grandmaster Jayson Gonzales being selected as one of the three vice presidents.

Pichay would then take the opportunity to secure support from all ten member nations to support current FIDE secretary-general Bambol Tolentino's re-election bid.

Chess Olympiad vets lead Pinoy cast in ASEAN Age Group Chess

The Philippines will be relying on Olympiad veterans to lead the way in the 19th ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships set to take place at the Royal Mandaya Hotel in Davao City from June 19-28.

The men's side will feature two-time Olympiad participant International Master Paulo Bersamina in the under-20 division.

The 19-year old pawn pusher, who was part of the Philippine team in the 2014 edition in Tromso and the 2016 edition in Baku, just missed out on a berth to this year's edition after an unsuccessful bid at the Olympiad qualifier dubbed as the "Road to Batumi" earlier this month.

Also carrying the flag for the Filipinos in this quest are International Master John Marvin Miciano and Daniel Quizon, who finished 1-2 in the Asian Age Group tile held in Chiang Mai, Thailand last April, as well as Jeth Romy Morado, John Merill Jacutina, and Rhenzki Kyle Sevillano from Far Eastern University.

On the women's side, Shaina Mae Mendoza leads the Filipinas in the under-20 division after topping their version of the "Road to Batumi,"with Kylen Joy Mordido also set to participate.

The hosts are seeking to at least replicate last year's feat at Kuantan, Malaysia, where they finished with 83 gold medals, 37 silver medals, and 29 bronze medals en route to the overall championship.

According to James Infiesto of Chess Events International, which serves as the organizers, the tournament field is expected to be tougher and more exciting, with about 300 players from ten countries (Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar, Thailand, South Korea. Denmark, Switzerland) taking part.

He adds, "We will be fielding in our best of the best to make the country proud."

Aside from regional bragging rights, the ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships has IM and FIDE Master titles at stake.

The National Chess Federation of the Philippines-sanctioned tournament has drawn support from the government, namely President Rodrigo Duterte, Davao City Mayor "Inday" Sara Duterte, and the Department of Education.

Youngsters hold their own against Veterans in The Battle of Legends

Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna beat International Master Barlo Nadera to cap the Young Rising Stars' 8-4 win over the Veterans after six rounds of "The Battle of Legends." inside the PACE office in Mindanao Ave., Quezon City.

Also anchoring wins for the Young Rising Stars is 2017 ASEAN Age Group Championship U-14 titlist and 2018 Kidapawan Open champion Daniel Quizon, who defeated IM Chito Garma, while also supplying wins are Shania Mae Mendoza, Mikee Charlene Suede, Christy Lemiel Bernales, John Meril Jacutina, and Michael Concio.

John Marvin Miciano and Chester Neil Reyes drew with IM Ronald Bancod and FIDE Master Adrian Pacis, respectively, while delivering the wins for the veterans are Edmundo Gatus, Efren Bagamasbad, and Elias Lao, Jr.

After six rounds of two standard and four rapid games, the Young Rising Stars have a 107-85 lead over the Veterans, but there are still eight blitz games yet to be completed.

Organized by Chess Events Internacionale, The Battle of Legends is sanctioned by the Butch Pichay-led National Chess Federation of the Philippines, and is part of the preparations for the World Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia this coming September, and for the ASEAN Age Group Championships that will be held in Davao in June.

Mati to host regional chess meet

The National Chess Federation of the Philippines earlier this month revealed that the city of Mati in Davao Oriental will host the Mindanao leg of the 2018 National Age Group Chess Championships later this month.

Set to take place at the Baywalk Hotel on March 23-25, it will serve as a qualifying tournament for the ASEAN Chess Championship, which is scheduled this June at Davao City.

Organized by Chess Events Internationale, the event is subdivided into the following age groups for both boys and girls: Under-20, Under-18, Under-16, Under-14, Under-12, Under-10, and Under-8. Champions in each division will be securing an automatic bid to the ASEAN Chess Championship, with FIDE Master titles and International Master norms are at stake.

In addition, cash prizes and medals will be up for grabs for top ten finishers in each category.

Mati City Mayor Carlo Rabat says of the hosting opportunity, "We are honored to have been given the chance to host this event, which is the very first of its kind to be held here in our city."