Wednesday, April 09, 2008 Batucan eyes Palaro gold By Marianne Saberon-Abalayan
NEWLY crowned 2008 National Age-Group Chess Championships boys under-12 titlist John Ray Batucan of Davao City vowed to win the gold medal in the elementary boys chess team event of the Palarong Pambansa slated April 20 to 26 in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.
"Ga-expect ko nga mag-champion mi sa Palaro kauban sa akong teammate nga si Austin Jacob Literatus (I expect to become champion again together with my teammate in the Palaro)," said the 11-year-old Batucan.
Literatus wasn't able to compete in the just concluded national chessfest, but Batucan said he is confident his Palaro partner will also give his best to win gold for the boys team for the Davao Regional Athletic Association (Davraa).
"Maayo man siya (Literatus). Sige man pud mi mag-draw sa mga dula namo. Kumpiyansa ko nga mudaug mi kay kusog pud siya nga player (He's good. We have been drawing our previous matches. I'm confident we will win because he's a very strong player)," Batucan said in an interview with Sun.Star Davao in an interview at the SDD-CMO.
Batucan said he was expecting to win in the national age group. "Nag-pray man ko. Nagtuo ko nga mag-champion nako kay ikatulong dula na nako to sa national age-group tong niagi. Nakatabang pud akong mga pag-apil sa mga dula. Focus ko sa akong training gamit ang computer (I prayed and believed I'd become champion in my third stint in the meet. My participation in tournaments and focus in training using the computer helped me to win)," he said.
Batucan placed fourth in the boys' under-10 event of the national age group in 2006 and then finished ninth in the boys' under-12 in 2007.
He won six matches and drew his matches with Vince Angelo Medina in Round 5 of Calabarzon, Giovanni Mejia of the National Capital Region, and Luc Mikhail Loja in the final round of the nine-round Swiss System format competition sanctioned by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP).
Batucan, along with Davao player Rowelyn Joy Acedo, girls' under-12 runner-up, will also form part of the Philippine team that will compete in the Asean Age-Group Chess Championships in Denang, Vietnman.
