PH youth chessers win nine medals in Singapore
Young Filipino woodpushers captured nine medals including four golds in the Singapore International Chess Festival, which ended last Sunday at the Jurong East Sports Complex in Singapore.
Michelle Yaon of Calamba City, Laguna, split the point with Sushmitha G of India in the final round to finish with 6.5 points in eight games and complete a wire-to-wire finish in the Girls U-17 division.
“Alay ko po sa bayan po itong gintong medalya,” said Yaon.
Dennis Gutierrez III of San Fabian, Pangasinan scored a crucial victory over Jiddan Firman of Indonesia to rule the Open U-8 division with 8.0 points while FIDE Master Paulo Bersamina of Pasay City added another gold by dominating the Open U-14 class with a victory against Ooi Zhi Yang of Singapore. He finished with 8.0 points to post a full-point victory over compatriot Jerad Docena of Bohol.
Vince Angelo Medina of Far Eastern University-FERN capped the country’s successful campaign by scoring 7.0 points in the Open U-17 after drawing his final-round assignment against Jodi Setyaki Azarya of Indonesia.
Other medal winners were Docena, who grabbed the silver in the Open U-14; Marc Christian Nazario (bronze) in the Open U-17; Julius Gonzales (bronze) in the Open U-11; Fiona Geeweneth Guirhem (bronze) in the Girls U-11 and Mae Ann Joy Baclayon (bronze) in the Girls U-8 category.
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Meanwhile, Cebuano Grandmaster Richard Bitoon finished tied for second in the 2nd ASEAN Men Campomanes Cup along with GM Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia and internatioal master Nguyen Van Huy of Vietnam.
The three finished with 6.0 points, half a point behind champion Vietnamese GM Cao Sangs.
However, there were disappointments elsewhere.
Woman FIDE Master Marie Antoinette San Diego failed to live up to her top billing in the Girls U-14 and finished with only 5.0 points in the nine-round event, two points behind winner WFM Najiha Hisham Nur of Singapore. Veterans Alex Milagrosa and Arlan Cabe also put up disappointing efforts in the final round of the 8th Singapore Open. The two needed only to score draws to hand reigning national champion Mari Joseph Turqueza the title. But they crumbled under pressure with Milagrosa losing to GM Eldar Gasanov of Ukraine and Cabe bowing to FM Andrean Susilodinata of Indonesia.
Turqueza, who beat Singapore-based Filipino Robert Suleo Jr., ended up third after the tiebreak.
Susilodinata won the title followed by Gasanov.
