FORMER De La Salle University (DLSU) varsity mainstay Engr. Aglipay 8 Oberio bounced back after previous attempts to emerge week 6 open champion of the DavNor Online Chess Weekly Tournament held over the weekend via lichess.org.
Oberio of the Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos) was unbeaten, earning a total of nine points after 10 rounds. He bested 7.5 scorers Jayson Salubre and Christian Gian Carlo Arca who placed second and third, respectively.
The champion, an Equipment Services Unit head of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Davao del Norte, eked out wins over Arca, James Catayas, Kenneth Tabada, John Esencia, Jerome Pullos, National Master (NM) Winston Silva, Aliyah Rae Lumangtad, and Reynaldo Llevado.
Oberio drew with Panabo City's Arena Grand Master (AGM) Henry Roger Lopez and Jayson Salubre in the sixth and ninth rounds, respectively. Lopez copped the week 3 title while Salubre swept the weeks 1, 2, and 5 crowns.
"Unang week nako ni nga nag-champion, second og third lang ko sa previous weeks (This is my first week to win the championship as I only finished second and third in the past weeks)," he said.
He, however, said, "I didn't expect to win the tournament but I was certain that if I would just play my best and if I was not exhausted from work since the tournament was scheduled every Friday night, then I would have an excellent performance."
The 26-year-old chesser said he executed his tactics and positional plays well while managing the given time control.
His match against Tabada was the toughest, according to him.
"I had a hard time playing with Kenneth Tabada since he played an unusual line against Caro-Kann Defense but luckily I found a tactical motif to equalize the game and then eventually won in the panic time," he added.
After six weeks, Salubre remained on top with 26 points in the overall individual open rankings followed by Lopez with 18 points. Oberio climbed from fifth place to third spot after his recent victory.
The weekly tournament is organized by the Provincial Sports and Youth Development Office under the authority of the Provincial Government of Davao del Norte. It also features 15 years old and below boys and girls categories.
Weekly winners will earn cash prizes and points. All points will be tallied after the final day of the tournament on June 30. The top three players with the most number of points will be declared winners.
The open top three players will pocket cash prizes of P5,000, P3,000, and P2,000 while the boys and girls first three chessers will take home P3,000, P2,000, and P1,000. MLSA