ASEAN Youth Under-14 bronze medalist NM Ivan Travis Cu added another feather to his cap by winning the second Meycauayan Chess Club chess tournament at the Aliw Complex in Meycauayan, Bulacan recently.

Cu finished in a two-way tie for the top spot with Randy Culangan with identical scores of six points, but clinched the title by virtue of higher tiebreak score.

The Grade 8 student at Xavier School. who is best remembered for winning the 2022 National Age Group Chess Championship U-14 open category title in 2022, pocketed the top prize of P5,000.

Culangan settled for the runner-up prize of P2,500.

Four players — Jasper Faeldonia, Arvie Aguilar, Romy Fagon and John Lee Antonio — finished in a tie for sixth places with 5.5 points.

Completing the Top 10 finishers were Janmyl Tisado, Ma. Laayza Villa, Marcus Fratkin and Victor Anas with five points apiece.

“I’m very proud of Ivan’s accomplishment. This is actually his first open tournament this year. He was busy with his studies, which ended only last March 17, ” said Cu’s father, Teddy.

The elder Cu said he expects Ivan to play chess a lot more while on vacation.

“He (Ivan) will see action this Sunday in a team event. Then he will take part in the Palaro meet on April 24-28. in Marikina. After that, he will bring his talents in two major international tournaments in the coming months,” added Cu.

Cu thanked the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP), headed by Chairman/President Prospero “Butch” Pichay and MCC, led by NM Richard de la Cruz and deputy arbiter Alfred Chay, for “providing young players regular tournaments to further hone their skills.”

AUTHOR PROFILE

Ed Andaya