National age group chess fest grand finals: Garcia, Bersamina, Samantila virtual champ

DESPITE on round to go, International Master (IM) Jan Emmanuel Garcia, FM Paul Bersamina and Daryl Unix Samantila virtually captured their respective division’s title in the on-going grand finals of the National age group chess championships at the Taguig City University auditorium in Taguig.

Garcia beat Vince Angelo Medina in the thirteenth round before drawing with NM Alcon John Datu in the next round to capture the Boys under 20 plums with 23 points for ten wins and three draws and without a loss going into the final and last round of the grassroots chess competition organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines headed by it's Chairman/President Prospero "Butch" Pichay Jr.and Secretary-General Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino Jr. , thru the initiative of NCFP Grass Roots Development Head and Bayan Muna Party-List Rep. Neri Javier Colmenares and hosted by City Government of Taguig. Garcia is followed by Datu with 19 points and IM Haridas Pascua with 18 points.

The NCFP is using a Pichay-Torre modified match point system which gives two points for a win, one point for a draw and zero point for a loss according to NCFP Executive Director GM Jayson Gonzales. A player is given 1.5 points if he stalemated his opponent.

In the Boys under-16 brackets FM Paul Bersamina impress the crowd by sweeping all his assignments from the first until round 14. He posted an amazing run of fourteen wins, enough to bag the Boys under-16 section with still one more game to play. He is followed by NM Giovanni Mejia with 22.5 points and Austin Jacob Literatus with 21 points. 

Daryl Unix Samantila on the other hand triumph in the Boys under 14 category with 21 points. Tied at second and third in standings with 17 points are John Marvin Miciano and John MerillJacutina.

In other results, Istraelito Rilloraza, Daniel Quizon and AlekhineNouri conquered their respective divisions and on top of the leaderboard of U-12, U-10 and U-8 respectively.

Only the champion in each category will represent the country in the Asian youth chess championships in June 20-27 in Marshad, Iran while the top three finishers will go to Chiang Mai in Thailand.

The leaders in the girls division:

U-20 Marie Antoinette San Diego – 21 points

U-16 Ella Grace Moulic – 17 points

U-14 Samantha GloRevita – 18 points

U-12 AllaneyJiaDoroy – 24 points

U-10 ChecyAlienaTelesforo – 15 points

U-8 Gerlin Mae San Diego – 18 points 

(Marlon Bernardino)