OZAMIZ City — Mindanao teenagers Woman FIDE Master Ruelle ‘Tawing’ Canino and International Master Christian Gian Karlo Arca are within striking distance of securing coveted Grandmaster (GM) titles with four rounds remaining at the 6th Asean+ Individual Open Chess Championships here.
Both Canino, from Cagayan de Oro, and Arca, from Zamboanga City, sit just half a point behind the leaders in the women’s and men’s divisions, respectively, as the international event resumed Thursday afternoon, Nov. 6.
Arca, 16, delivered a key performance by handing Filipino Grandmaster Darwin Laylo his second defeat in the fifth round.
“Timing iyang pagdaug kay nagtabla-tabla sa taas kombate dikit pa ang mga skor,” said Gian’s father, Arman Arca, noting that his son’s win came at a crucial time as the scores remained tight at the top of the standings.
Men’s division: Tight race for the top
Cebuano International Master Kim Steven Yap and IM Arca are among the top Filipino contenders midway through the tournament, held for the first time in Northern Mindanao and backed by Governor Henry S. Oaminal.
Yap remains unbeaten with 3.5 points from two wins and three draws, placing him half a point behind co-leaders IM Munkhdalai Amilal of Mongolia and IM V S Raahul of India, who are tied at four points.
IMs Jan Emmanuel Garcia, Paulo Bersamina, and Arca are also in the 3.5-point cluster, all contenders for the GM title in the nine-round Swiss system event.
Key matches scheduled for Thursday afternoon include Garcia (3.5) testing black-wielding Amilal (four) on the top board, while Yap (3.5) tangles with white player Raahul (four) on Board 2. Arca (3.5) and Bersamina (3.5) are set for an all-Filipino showdown on Board 4.
Women’s division: Canino pushing for WGM
The Philippines’ lone female Grandmaster, Janelle Mae Frayna, is currently sharing 2nd to 4th places with Vietnam’s WGMs Thi Mai Hung Nguyen and Thi Bao Tram Hoang at four points.
They trail Russian IM Evgenija Ovod, who leads the field with an impressive 4.5 points after five rounds.
Breathing down their necks is the country’s strongest prospect for another Women’s Grandmaster (WGM) title: the 17-year-old Canino, the reigning National Open women’s champion.
Canino occupies fifth place with 3.5 points, owning the highest tiebreak among the group that includes Russia’s WIM Ekaterina Smirnova and Mongolia’s WIM Laysa Latifah.
In the afternoon’s critical matchups, Nguyen (white) squares off against Ovod on Board 1, while Frayna (black) faces Hoang on Board 2. Canino plays the black side against Latifah on Board 3.
Other Filipinos still in contention include GM John Paul Gomez and IM Michael Concio Jr. at three points, and WFM Jemaicah Yap Mendoza at three points.
