Kidd rules Cepca June tournament, makes grand finals

Retired master sergeant Ador Kidd ruled the Cebu Executives and Professionals Chess Association (Cepca) Monthly Qualifying Tournament last Sunday in the Ayala Center Cebu.

The 46-year-old Kidd finished the one-day tournament with 4.5 points off four wins and one draw to win the monthly title for June and book a slot in the Cepca Grand Finals in December.

Kidd, a retired master sergeant of the Philippine Marine Corps, opened the tournament by beating Althea Minique Bagano and followed it with a win over young chess phenom Jerish John Velarde, who’s fresh from a successful stint in the 19th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) + Age Group Chess Championships in Davao City.

Kidd, who’s now into the tuna business, continued to rack up wins in the next two rounds, outlasting Reynaldo Flores and Edelyn Vosotros before a draw with Rowena Padro in the fifth round.

There were four players who were tied at 4.0 points after five rounds and to break the tie and determine the runner-up, the organizers used the Buchholz system.

Flores garnered the highest tiebreak points to take second place, Velarde settled for third place, Ramsey Pedroza placed fourth, and Padro Rowena placed fifth.

Kidd joins Eduard Dela Torre (January), Mario Bustillo (February), Rogelio Enriquez Jr. (March), Joselito Loquez (April) and Zilberstein Torres (May) in the list of Cetba Finals qualifiers. /