By ADRIAN STEWART CO
Negrense para chess standout and FIDE Master Sander Severino has died of heart failure at the age of 40, just days after a triumphant campaign in the Asean Para Games.
Severino passed away in his hometown of Negros Occidental’s Silay City.
His death came shortly after returning from the regional meet in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, where he captured three gold medals and helped power the Philippines to a fourth-place overall finish.
He topped the men’s individual standard P1 and men’s individual blitz P1 events, and was part of the gold medal-winning men’s team standard P1 squad.
The Philippine delegation concluded the games with 45 gold, 37 silver and 52 bronze medals.
Philippine para chess team head coach James Infiesto said Severino had been hospitalized for nearly a week after arriving from Thailand.
According to Infiesto, the veteran campaigner suddenly experienced weakness and difficulty breathing.
Widely regarded as the most decorated member of the national para chess team, Severino lived with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, which he was diagnosed with at age eight and which required him to use a wheelchair.
Despite the condition, he built one of the most successful careers in Philippine para sports.
Severino earned his FIDE Master title in 2015 and made an immediate impact on the international stage that same year, winning two gold medals at the Asean Para Games in Singapore.
He followed that breakthrough with a dominant showing at the Asian Para Games in Jakarta in 2016, where he secured four gold medals across individual and team events.
Across his appearances in the Asian and Asean Para Games, Severino amassed a lengthy medal haul that included multiple gold medals along with several silver and bronze finishes.
During the pandemic in 2020, he also won the International Physically Disabled Chess Association World Online Rapid Championship, completing the tournament undefeated.
Severino was part of the national contingent scheduled to be honored at the upcoming San Miguel Corporation – Philippine Sportswriters Association Awards Night in Manila on February 16.
He is remembered as one of the country’s most accomplished para athletes and a central figure in the rise of Philippine para chess on the international stage./ASC, WDJ