Filipino age group chessers bag 8 golds in Asean blitz

TARAKAN, Indonesia—The Philippines flaunted its might by winning eight golds, seven silvers and eight bronzes in the 12th Asean + age-group blitz chess competitions at the Indoor Telaga Kramat Stadium Wednesday.

Dennis Gutierrez III of Pangasinan swept his nine matches to rule the boys 8 years old and under category in this event held simultaneously with the Asean + age-group standard chess competitions.

The other gold medal winners for the Filipinos were Julius Gonzales of Marikina in the boys 10-under; Daryl Unix Samantila of Malabon in the boys 12-under; Dominique Lagula of Nueva Ecija in the boys 16-under; and Mira Mirano of Aklan in the girls 4-under. Gonzales and Samantila both finished with seven points. Lagula had 6.5 points and Mirano 7.5 points.

The Filipinos also bagged the team gold medals in the  girls 14-under team of Mirano and Ella Grace Moulic;  the boys 16-under team of Lagula, Dave Patrick Dulay and Jeazzir Kline Suposa; the girls 16-under team of  Janelle Mae Frayna, Cherry Ann Mejia and Jean Karen Enriquez.

“We’re very happy with this newest achievement of our players,” said National Chess Federation of the Philippine executive director GM Jayson Gonzales. “It only shows that the  NCFP  program for grassroots development is  on the right track.

The silver medals came from the boys 8-under team of Gutierrez, Ronald Canino and  Khuelene Lord de la Cruz;  Irish Yngayo in the girls 8-under; Samantha Glo Revita of  Pangasinan in the girls 12-under;  Frayna in the girls 16-under; Lennon Hart Salgados and Mari Joseph Turqueza in the boys 20-under; and the team of Salgados, Turqueza and Richelieu Salcedo.

Bronze medalists were the girls 8-under team of Yngayo, Mary Sol Quitong and Jerlyn Mae San Diego;  the boys 10-under team of Gonzales, Dennis Gutierrez Jr. and Jeremy Solano;  the boys 12-under team of Samantila, Haince Patrick de Leon and Tristan Ibaoc; the girls 12-under team of Revita and Marie Antoinette San Diego;  the boys 14 under team of Jerad Docena, Austin Jacob Literatus and  Giovanni Mejia; Moulic in the girls 14-under;  Mejia in the girls 16-under; and the girls 20-under team of Rowelyn Acedo, Jedar Docena and Mary Israel Palero.

Meanwhile, Marie Antoinette San Diego made it four wins in a row to rise to 4.0 points and keep the solo lead in  the girls 12 years old-and-under in the standard chess championships.

San Diego bested Vindy Chandra of Indonesia to stay a half-point ahead of  WFM Dita Karenza of Indonesia.  Samanta Glo Revita shared third  place with Chandra and Nguyen Thi Minh Oanh of Vietnam with three points.