By Jaime Joshua A. Frias II
Contributor
YOU don’t usually see three school classmates winning altogether in the same chess competition.
Cagayan de Oro school children Sebastian Marbas, Lila Alyssa Seriña, and Ashley Aya Nicole Paquinol stamped their class in the 2022 Philippine National Children Chess Championship Grand Finals, which concluded on October 27 in Malolos, Bulacan.
The three sixth graders, considered among Cagayan de Oro’s rising chess players, are also honor students from the Grade Six-Amber Class of the Capitol University Basic Education Department.
The 11-year-old Marbas finished in a tie for first place with Quezon City bet Mar Aviel Carredo at 5.5 points in a seven-round Swiss System tourney.
Marbas, however, settled for runner-up after Carredo edged him out in the Bucholz tiebreaker for the 12-under boys title.
Best buddies Seriña and Paquinol, on the other hand, tied for second place with six points apiece after they agreed to a draw in the 9th and final round of the 12-under girls section behind Aeiona Lou Mendoza from Luzon who took the crown with seven points to show.
Seriña was declared the second placer with a hairline difference in tie-break points, as Paquinol settled for third place.
Both Marbas and Seriña pocketed P4,000 each, while Paquinol brought home P3,000 also with a trophy.
For their feats, Marbas and Paquinol were given slots to represent the country in the 2022 Eastern Asia Youth Festival in Bangkok, Thailand as Seriña begged off to stay for academics reason.
Marbas and Paquinol’s trip to Bangkok, Thailand was also inspired by their impressive showing in the National Youth and Schools Chess Championships in Dapitan last September.
