Asuela, Tabamo rule CdO chessfest

CAGAYAN DE ORO: Local favorite FIDE Master Ellan Asuela continues to dominate the Mindanao chess scene even as Cassey Miguel Tabamo of Bukidnon also claimed the spotlight in a FIDE-rated chess tournament held over the weekend here at the Barangay Nazareth gym.

The 35-year-old Asuela, who won every chess battle in the locality apart from topping the December 2022 Kasparov Chess Foundation Asia-Pacific Absolute Challenge in Singapore, went to the tiebreaker to win the Individual Open crown in the 4th Congressman Rufus Rodriguez and 1st Vice Mayor Bebot Rodriguez

FIDE Rapid Chess Tournament.

Tabamo also relied on the tiebreak to score his first title in the 14-under division of the tournament sanctioned by FIDE, the world’s governing body for chess.

“I think I’m just lucky because I suffered a defeat at the hands of a nonmaster opponent (Eutemio Coquilla) before pulling off a comeback in the last two rounds and was up in the tiebreaker over Johnnel Balquin and FM Nelson Villanueva,” said Asuela, who grew up in Bacolod City but relocated here in July 2022.

Asuela’s lone conqueror Coquilla, who started with a perfect 6 of 6 performance, got ambushed by Jonathan Docot and Balquin in the last two rounds that also saw the resurgence of Villanueva.

Locked at 7 points apiece, Asuela, Balquin and Villanueva equally divided among themselves the pooled prizes of P22,000 for the top-three winners as Docot finished at solo fourth place with 6.5 points and pocketed the P3,000 cash prize.

Tabamo, meanwhile, defeated his last two assignments to tie Keith Adriane Ilar and Lila Alyssa Seriña on top with 6.0 points each.