Ubanan ni Oro has given the top 10k chess prize in Davao’s Salubre

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WITH bated breath, the home crowd expects to see Nazario Ubanan of Cagayan de Oro duel Jayson Salubre of Panabo, Davao del Norte in the seventh and final round of the cash-rich tourney of Golden Chess Friends in Bukidnon.

And why not?

Ubanan (six pts) is more than half the points of Salubre (5.5 pts) who entered the finale of the joint competition in the College and Open division.

Holding the white pieces, Ubanan only needed a board to take home the first prize of P10,000 and the championship trophy.

But a decisively weak move by Ubanan in their final game dampened the expectations of the excited crowd, including chess-playing Sumilao Mayor Jose Antonio Villo who witnessed when Salubre seized the precious chance to win the total points and the victory.

“I think he (Ubanan) has the best position when they come to the last game, but he pulled it differently and immediately favored the momentum you Salubre,” said arbiter Lorenzo Cuizon Gold Star Daily The GCF VIII-1st Cong Jose Manuel ‘Joeman’ Alba FIDE Rated Chess Cup 2023 was held at the Sumilao Municipal Hall in Bukidnon last Sunday.

The loss relegated Ubanan to fourth place after a tiebreaker with four six-pointers including second-placer Cassey Miguel Tabamo, third-running Fide Master Ellan Asuela, and fifth-finisher Romeo Canino.

The pride of Malaybalay City, Tabamo, who is still in high school and the youngest Open division challenger, bounced back from his penultimate round loss in Ubanan by defeating Arena Grandmaster Julius Dan Augustine Ablin of Iligan City in the seventh and final round. phase.

The black-wielding Asuela continued to dominate Balquin while Canino repeated the challenge of Randolph Daluta.

Tobacco, Asuela, Grey, and Canino received P7,000, P5,000, P3,000, and P2,000 respectively. Meanwhile, the solo sixth-placer Bryan Jose of Talakag, Bukidnon also received P1,000 along with a medal for his 5.5-point effort in seven rounds.

The top-14 finishers among the nearly 100 participants in the Open division are Cleto Vasquez, Balquin, Basilio Pandan, AGM Lyndon Lumancas, National Master Levi Mercado, Aljie Cantonjos, Daluta, and Ronald Ompoc with similar five-points results.

The founding head of GCF, Benoni Wabe alone praised the young Tabamo for his courage in destroying the Open division battle.

“These children who have the courage and ability to stand up to adults are the ones who will advance their chess career,” Wabe said later Gold Star Daily.