I am not a sports writer and don’t intend on being one but today’s column is about sports as a good friend, who happens to be a chess enthusiast, requested their article about a chess event be printed in my column.

The proceeding article is by Chess National Master (NM) Alfred Acaling III.

Ellan Asuela of the Negros Integrated Chess Association blasted a field comprised of one grandmaster, three international masters (IM), three Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) masters (FM), and eight NMs to recently capture the Tagum Fiesta National Rapid Chess Championship individual open.

Along the way, he defeated Bhell Ortiz, Carl Zirex Sato, Alfredo Rapanot, Darry Bernardo, along with fellow Negrenses Marvin Ting and Jerich Cajeras. In the last round, Asuela drew ‘Blitz King’ David Elorta.

The tournament was modified as games were timed at 15 minutes with 10 second increments, starting from the first move.

The win confirmed Asuela as one of the best rapid players not only in Negros but the entire country. He finished with a 2,592 performance rating and came out on top with 6.5 points.

FM Narquingden Reyes finished in second place, Elorta took third, and IM Ronald Dableo captured fourth place; all three earned 6.0 points.

The team competition was won by a team composed of two Negrense players and one IM from Manila. It’s a trend I have been observing for a long time, suggesting the strength of Negrense chess players is on par with the nation’s best./WDJ