Thursday, January 31, 2008 FCD buddies hurdle junior chess qualifier
THE fancied tandem of Lennon Hart Salgados of Corpus Christi and Antonio Chavez Jr. of Cagayan de Oro National High School threatens to move closer for another stint in the annual Palarong Pambansa.
This, after the FCD (Fighting Chess Defenders) buddies made another 1-2 finish in secondary chess competition of the ongoing Triangular Meet here.
Both scored four wins and a draw in five round-robin affair, though the 14-year-old Salgados was declared champion after edging Chavez, 17 in the "number of color of pieces played" tiebreaker.
The two played together in the Cotabato Palaro last year but barely missed to win a medal for Northern Mindanao.
"Mora'g hinog na `mi ni Lennon sa Palaro karong tuiga. Unta, makalusot gihapon `mi sa regional meet (I think we're already ripe to compete in this year's Palaro but we have still the regional meet to hurdle)," Chavez said.
The remaining unfinished chess matches at the City Central's conference room, saw Shian Tigulo of Corpus Christi and Beverliza Bernardo of Carmen High sharing the lead in secondary girls.
The much younger Julie Anne Opima of Russvale shocked Palaro mainstay Alyssa Ysaiah Jamaca of Corpus Christi to take the solo lead in elementary girls.
While Keith Ibaoc of Corpus Christi, Erl Cedric Dadole of host City Central and Kenneth Norman Honculada of Xavier University Grade School both incurred one loss apiece for a three-way logjam with two more rounds to go.
