PLAYING black on Monday night’s must-win situation against a world champion proved catastrophic for the Philippines’ Woman Fide Master Ruelle ‘Tawing’ Canino, who was forced to take an early vacation in the ongoing Women’s World Chess Cup 2025 in Batumi, Georgia.
Woman Grandmaster Anna Shukman of Russia completed a masterful 2-0 handling of the 17-year-old Filipina from Cagayan de Oro City to advance in the second round of the event, which serves as a qualifier for the Women’s World Chess Championship, with the top finishers gaining entry to the championship title match.
Checkmated by a pawn on Sunday’s opener via the Ragozin system of the Queen’s Gambit Declined, the Budapest Olympiad giant-killer Canino chose the solid and strategic French defence in her bid to go for a flat-out win against the reigning World and European junior chess champion.
Again, Canino did well in the opening that led to the labyrinth of the dynamic and tactical Winawer variation, which saw the black Queen’s early foray to the enemy’s King-side fortress.
Shukman, however, was too smart not to take any risk as she nurtured a formidable position and kept the balance on the board.
Without much success and no plan for a peaceful ending, Canino decided to push early for a g4 Queenside breakthrough to muddy the water despite her inactive light-square Bishop.
This Shukman was all waiting for as Canino’s reckless decision netted the former with a two-pawn advantage some moves later.
Canino further tried to complicate matters, but her highly fancied foe went for the obvious, exchanging the major pieces to douse cold water for any possible resistance.
“It’s game over na,” Canino’s father, Ruel, long-time trainer Jaime Joshua Frias II, and a bunch of chess players in Cagayan de Oro monitoring the game online til midnight, declared in unison.
The younger Canino extended a hand on move 46 after Shukman’s simple Kb1 that left the black King guarding alone two Queenside passed pawns, and waiting for the white King to liquidate the rest of Canino’s Kingside pawns.
“Making it to the World Cup is no easy feat. She’s still very young anyway, prepare na lang sa SEA Games and use that experience to make her improve and become a better player,” said Canino’s father, as he thanked the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and the Philippine Sports Commission for sponsoring her daughter’s World Cup trip.
