Fronda, Frayna finish in top 20 of Asian Chess

Woman International Master Jan Jodilyn Fronda and Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna drew with their respective foes to finish in the top 20 at the end of the 17th Asian Continental Chess Championships (Second Manny Pacquiao Cup) Tuesday.

Fronda split the point with third seed IM Guo Qi of China while Frayna halved the point with 13th pick WGM Nguyen Thi Thanh An of Vietnam to finish in a seven-player group at 12th place with five points apiece.

But after tiebreaks, Fronda emerged as the best placed Phl bet at 16th overall while Frayna wound up at the end of that pack at 18th in this tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Phl headed by Butch Pichay and bankrolled by the Phl Sports Commission and Sen. Manny Pacquaio.

Woman FIDE Master Allaney Jia Doroy, a 17-year-old National U standout who has a paltry rating of 1972, drew with 11th seed WIM Mobina Alinasab of Iran to finish at 19th place with 4.5 points but gained a 101.6 rating points.

In the men’s division, 58-year-old IM Ricky de Guzman fought GM Abhimanyu Puranik of India to a standoff to end up the best local finisher at 23rd place with five points.

GM John Paul Gomez also wound up with five points after he drew with former women’s world champion GM Tan Zhongyi of China but ended up at 27th spot after tiebreaks.

China’s GM Wei Yi topped the men’s side after edging GMs M. Amin Tabatabei of Iran and Le Quang Liem of Vietnam via tiebreaks while India’s IM Ruot Padmini reigned supreme in the women’s section after she also bested WGM Gong Qianyun of Singapore in tiebreaks.

In the blitz event the same day, Frayna dumped sixth seed IM Gulishkan Nakhbayeva of Kazakhstan to finish fourth in the women’s division ruled by China’s WGM Wang Jue, who trounced compatriot Zhang Xiao.

Filipinas WIMs Catherine Secopito and Bernadette Galas were in the top two after six rounds but faltered in the end to settle for sixth and ninth, respectively.

IM Roderick Nava won over GM Lu Shanglei of China to finish at No. 8, the best among the Filipinos entered.