Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna held on to her solo lead in the Philippine National Women’s Chess Championship after drawing with Queen Rose Pamplona in the seventh round. The draw came in a tense 39-move Center-Counter game, leaving Frayna with 5.5 points. Ruelle Canino narrowed the gap by winning her match, positioning herself strongly for the World Chess Olympiad qualifier.
In Malolos, Bulacan, Bicolana Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna, an enlisted personnel of the Philippine Army, faced a challenging kingside attack from Iloilo’s top-ranked junior Queen Rose Pamplona during the seventh round of the Philippine National Women’s Chess Championship. Frayna neutralized the threat to secure a 39-move draw in a razor-sharp Center-Counter showdown, maintaining her solo lead with 5.5 points.
The result cut Frayna’s once full-point advantage in half, as 18-year-old Ruelle Canino of Cagayan de Oro earned a hard-fought victory over Mindanaoan prodigy Allaney Jia Doroy of Agusan del Sur in a Queen’s Gambit duel. Canino, the ASEAN Individual Championship silver winner, now has five points, with 4.5 of them coming from the last five rounds. This performance has kept her in prime position to secure one of the three tickets to the World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, this September.
Other contenders include Heart Padilla of Iba, Zambales, who crushed Maria Lavandero in 31 moves of a Sicilian; Jan Jodilyn Fronda of Alaminos, Pangasinan, who drew with Shania Mae Mendoza in 36 moves of a Queen’s Pawn game; and Woman International Master Bernadette Galas, who halved the point with Marie Antoinette San Diego in 31 moves of another Sicilian. All three sit at 4.5 points.
The NCFP-sanctioned, FIDE-rated tournament, backed by host city Mayor Christian Natividad and the Philippine Sports Commission, took a break yesterday and resumes today. The highlight will be a showdown between Frayna and Canino, two national champions, with eight rounds remaining.
