MORE experienced players prevailed Friday in the fight here for the coveted slots in chess to the 2010 Tarlac Palaro.
Corpus Christi's Lennon Hart Salgados and Alyssa Ysaiah Jamaca of Team CDO, both veterans in the Palarong Pambansa meet, both hurdled their respective secondary matches to qualify.
Same with Bukidnon's Fritzi Ghean Gabagaran, the region's board 1 player for elementary girls last year in Ormoc Palaro, who defeated CDO's Julie Ann Opema in the final selection process for the top-4 performers in elementary and secondary levels.
Like Salgados who defeated his own teammate Jason Chezter Coquilla in the final round, CDO elementary compatriot Tristan Frech Ibaoc was also obliged to hurdle his match with board 2 mate Adrian Othniel Yulo to prevail.
Joining the Palaro chess qualifiers are Misor's Ivy Amper (secondary girls) and Alji Cantonjos of Gingoog City as Ibaoc's partner in elementary boys level; Corpus Christi's Nicole Anne Rivera (elementary girls) and Julius Augustine Ablin of La Salle-Iligan, loser twice to Salgados, but escaped with a crucial win over Misor's Ryan Dinagsao in the final round of the secondary boys rivalry.