PAVIA, Iloilo – Ilonggo woodpusher Fritz Bryan Porras topped the Iloilo Kisela Knights Monthly Chess Tournament first leg held over the weekend at Digiworldn Robinsons Place mall here.
Porras, a mainstay of the Iloilo Kisela Knights in the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines, emerged as champion in the Rapid Chess Open Category with his six points.
Finishing behind Porras were Karlo Britanico and Neymark Digno, both finished with 5.5 points in six matches, while Jay D Fortunado and Lloyd Lanciola ended up with four markers apiece.
For topping the division, the Iloilo City-native Porras took home the top prize of P3,000 apart from medal, while the first and second runner ups had P2,000 and P1,000, respectively, while fourth and fifth placer had P700 and P500.
Kimberly Colaste, meanwhile, bagged the championship in the Rapid-Under 17 category with 6.5 points, while Rico John Acclaracion (5.5), Anton Benedict Bebit (5.5), Chint Gyro Umanday (5) and Kyla Pasaporte (5) finished behind.
Vaugn Robert Oberio, on the other hand, bagged the crown in the Under-12 category with seven points. Finishing behind him were Iana Angela Sotaridona (6), Faith Argenal (6), Shan Lester Jamerlan (5) and Jay Emmanuel Sotaridona (5).
The champion player in the Under-17 and Under-12 category both took home P2,000 cash along with medal, P1,500 for first runner up, P1,000 for second runner up, P700 for fourth placer and P500 for fifth placer.
Kisela Knights head coach Hubert Canto said that the one-day chess tournament aimed at discovering young chess talents not just in Iloilo City but the entire Western Visayas region.
“The Iloilo Kisela Knights plans to do this tournament monthly. One of the purpose is to inspire more Ilonggos to play chess and another is to develop more chess players from the region,” Canto said.
Canto further said that the second leg of the tournament is scheduled on July 31 with the venue still being finalized with respective local government units./PN
