A SLEW of Filipino aspirants chase Grandmaster (GM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM) titles as the Philippines hosts the 7th ASEAN Individual Chess Championships set Nov. 2 to 10 at the AMORAP in Sinacaban, Misamis Occidental.
International Masters (IM) Jem Garcia, Paulo Bersamina, Michael Concio, Jr., MJ Bacojo and Christian Gian Karlo Arca and FIDE Master (FM) Alekhine Nouri are the host country’s best bets to emerging as its newest GM after Daniel Quizon became one two years ago in the Budapest Olympiad.
Ruelle Canino, along with fellow WIM Jan Jodilyn Fronda, WFM Shania Mae Mendoza and Olympiad teammate Mhage Sebastian, should be at the forefront at snaring that WGM title and becoming the second one to achieve such feat after Janelle Mae Frayna emerged as one nine years ago.
Interestingly, the 18-year-old Ms. Canino snared the WIM title in last year’s edition of the same tournament also in Misamis Occidental where she finished second behind eventual winner IM Evgenija Ovod of Russia.
This time, Ms. Canino is eyeing the higher reward — the WGM title — in a strong field spearheaded by a battery of WGMs in Ms. Frayna, Nguyen Thi Mai Hung and Hoang Thi Bao Tram of Vietnam, and Altan-Ulzii Enkhtuul of Mongolia, plus Ms. Ovod, who will be back to defend her crown.
Apart from this, the National Chess Federation of the Philippines is also hosting two more international tournaments — the Misamis Occidental Philippine International Championship scheduled Nov. 10-17 also at the AMORAP and the AQ Prime International Open Chess Championship slated Nov. 17-25 in Quezon City.
GM, WGM, IM and WIM norms and direct FM and WFM titles are at stake in those two events. — Joey Villar