Frayna to play 20-board simul today

Twenty kids 8-14 years old will get to play with the country’s first-ever lady grandmaster WGM Janelle Mae Frayna in a simultaneous exhibition game prepared by the Artillery Foundation of the Philippines Inc. (AFPI) and the Philippine Academy for Chess Excellence (Pace) today.

The exhibition will jumpstart the two-day 2017 National Rapid and Blitz Individual/Team Chess Championships at the Green Level 1 and 2 of the Robinsons Galleria-Cebu.

Frayna, who is an alumna of the AFPI-organized tournament that started in 2011, is not going to compete but will try to inspire the young and female chess players to strive hard and reach their goals.

“Janelle will not compete. Her presence here is to inspire the kids and lady chess players as well to strive and excel both academically and in chess. She is an alumnus of this competition and she is one of the players whom AFPI helped, especially in her chess career. Actually, we are also trying to discover new talents who could be grantees of the AFPI program,” tournament director GM Jayson Gonzales told SunStar Cebu last Thursday evening at the Knight Attack Chess Café in Robinsons Galleria-Cebu.

The 21-year-old Frayna, who graduated BS Psychology at the Far Eastern University last June, was joined by GM Gonzales, AFPI president Ret. Brigadier General Pedro Biasbas, ret. Colonel Emmanuel C. Martin and local organizer Eng’r John Velarde in the press meeting.

Each team is composed of three players with an average rating of 2050. A team can only have one titled player.

The champion in the rapid competition will get P25,000, while the next two teams will get P15,000 and P10,000, respectively. Teams in the top 10 will also get cash prizes. /