CEBU’S chess wizards made their presence felt in the 19th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) + Age Group Chess Championships, which concluded yesterday at the Royal Mandaya Hotel in Davao City.
Rhenzi Kyle Sevillano bagged a gold medal in the Open Under-20 individual blitz competition after scoring 6.5 points off five wins and three draws after nine rounds.
The 20-year-old Far Eastern University varsity Sevillano beat Nguyeen Duy Linh of Vietnam and Fide Master (FM) Sagita Catur Adi of Indonesia in the second round before drawing against International Master (IM) Paulo Bersamina and Vietnamese Pham Minh Hieu.
Sevillano defeated FM Setyaki Azarya Jodi and IM John Marvin Miciano in the fifth and sixth rounds, respectively, and had a draw with Nguyen Huynh Tuan Hai. Sevillano split his last two games, winning against Coellier Graspela in the eighth round and losing to Sarri Subahani in the final round.
Sevillano was tied with Vietnamese Minh Hieu Pham and fellow Filipino IM Paulo Bersamino with 6.5 points but got the higher tie-break score to win the gold medal.
John Jerish Velarde, meanwhile, finished the 9-day chess tournament with five medals in the Under-12 open.
After winning two gold medals in the individual and team standard chess, Velarde added two silver medals in the rapid chess team and blitz chess team events. He also won a bronze medal in the individual blitz.
Vic Glysen Derotas also made waves in the tournament, winning a silver medal in the blitz individual girls’ 18-Under. She’s also part of the team that won a gold medal in the team blitz.
In rapid chess, the former University of San Carlos-Basic Education stalwart Derotas, who now plays for National University, won a silver medal in the individual event and a gold medal in the team event. (RSC)