Philippines Hosts 7th ASEAN Individual Chess Championships in Misamis Occidental
Key Takeaways
- •The 7th ASEAN Individual Chess Championships will be held from Nov. 2 to 10 at the AMORAP in Sinacaban, Misamis Occidental, in the southern Philippines.
- •International Masters Jem Garcia, Paulo Bersamina, Michael Concio Jr., MJ Bacojo and Christian Gian Karlo Arca, together with FIDE Master Alekhine Nouri, are the host nation's leading contenders for a new Grandmaster title.
- •Ruelle Canino fronts the women's division, where a victory would produce only the second Filipina Woman Grandmaster after Janelle Mae Frayna, who became the first nine years ago.
- •The 18-year-old Canino captured the WIM title at last year's edition, finishing behind champion Evgenija Ovod of Russia, who returns to a field that also features WGMs from Vietnam and Mongolia.
- •Two further international events — the Misamis Occidental Philippine International Championship and the AQ Prime International Open in Quezon City — run from Nov. 10 to 25, offering norms as well as direct FM and WFM titles.
The Philippines is hosting the 7th ASEAN Individual Chess Championships, set for Nov. 2 to 10 at the AMORAP in Sinacaban, Misamis Occidental — a province in the southern Philippines — with a slew of Filipino aspirants chasing Grandmaster (GM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM) titles. The GM crown is the highest honor in world chess, awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), while the WGM is the top rank among the federation's women-only titles.
International Masters (IM) Jem Garcia, Paulo Bersamina, Michael Concio, Jr., MJ Bacojo and Christian Gian Karlo Arca, along with FIDE Master (FM) Alekhine Nouri, are the host country's best bets to emerge as its newest GM. Daniel Quizon earned the GM title two years ago at the Budapest Olympiad.
In the women's division, Ruelle Canino leads the local charge for the WGM crown, joined by fellow Woman International Master (WIM) Jan Jodilyn Fronda, Woman FIDE Master (WFM) Shania Mae Mendoza and Olympiad teammate Mhage Sebastian. A title win would make the victor the second Filipina to achieve the feat after Janelle Mae Frayna became the first nine years ago.
Notably, the 18-year-old Canino captured the WIM title at last year's edition of the same tournament, also held in Misamis Occidental, where she finished second behind eventual winner IM Evgenija Ovod of Russia. This time, Canino is eyeing the higher reward in a strong field spearheaded by a battery of WGMs: Frayna, Nguyen Thi Mai Hung and Hoang Thi Bao Tram of Vietnam, and Altan-Ulzii Enkhtuul of Mongolia, plus Ovod, who returns to defend her crown.
Beyond the championships, the National Chess Federation of the Philippines is also hosting two more international tournaments: the Misamis Occidental Philippine International Championship, scheduled Nov. 10-17 at the AMORAP, and the AQ Prime International Open Chess Championship, slated Nov. 17-25 in Quezon City. GM, WGM, IM and WIM norms, along with direct FM and WFM titles, are at stake in both events. A norm, in FIDE practice, is a performance benchmark earned over a set number of games against eligible opponents in a single event, and players pair norms with the required rating thresholds to clinch titles. With the three tournaments running back to back through Nov. 25, Filipino players get an extended stretch of norm opportunities on home soil.
— Joey Villar
