FORMER Asian junior champion IM Ricardo de Guzman emerged as the champion in the 2021 Philippine Seniors chess championship recently.

De Guzman, a mainstay of newly-crowned PCAP champion San Juan Predators, finished with eight points on seven wins and two draws in the 11-round, 11-player tournament featuring the country’s best senior players.

De Guzman, who made history by winning the Asian junior championships in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1981, swept his last four assignments to clinch the championship.

A three-time Olympian in 1978, 1984 and 1992, De Guzman finished a full point ahead of IMs Cris Ramayrat, Angelo Young and Barlo Nadera.

The 60-year-old De Guzman won over Alan Pelias in the first round, Mario Mangubat in the second round, Ramayrat in the sixth round, FM Rosendo Bandal by default in the eighth round, Nadera in the ninth round, Rolzon Roullo in the 10th round and Lorilla Nelson in the 11th round.

His draws came against Young in the third round and IM Petronio Roca in the fifth round.

The only setback came at the hands of Gerardo Cabellon in the seventh round.

Ramayrat, one of the highest-scoring players while playing for the Manila Indios Bravos in the PCAP, edged Young and Nadera in the tiebreak.

Like De Guzman, Ramayrat also won his last four assignments against Roca, Young, Cabellon and Bandal.

Young settled for third place, while Nadera wound up fourth.

All three players had seven points.

Roulo finished with six points for fifth place, followed by Cabellon in sixth place with 5.5 points.

A total of 11 players saw action in the tournament with IA Reden Cruz as the chief arbiter and FA Rudy Ibanez as deputy chief arbiter.

Final standings:

8 points — R. de Guzman
7 — C. Ramayrat, A. Young, B. Nadera
6 — R. Roullo
5.5 — G. Cabellon
4.5 — P. Roca
3 — A.Pelias, R. Bandal, M. Mangubat
0 — N. Lorilla