HOME favorite Nazario Ubanan did his best to be the top performer in the Barangay Consolacion Fiesta Chess Tournament held on Tuesday along “Ilalom sa Tulay” Abellanosa Street, Barangay Consolacion, Cagayan de Oro City.
In the seven-round Swiss system rapid tourney, using the Sophia rules, the struggling father Ubanan lorded it over in the 60-man field from the opening round up to the penultimate sixth frame.
“He defended turf and played like the king to be the best against the visitors of his beloved home Consolacion, except in the last round,” arbiter Lorenzo ‘Jun’ Cuizon told Gold Star Daily.
Computer pairing expert Arian Belly ‘Arbz’ Calido paired Ubanan with Danilo Obeso Jr in the seventh and final round with the home boy heavily favored to prevail as he seemingly had no pressure with a one-point lead.
But Ubanan, also assured of the P1,000 bonus for the top-performing Consolacion resident, apparently bungled his last-round assignment to settle for the runner-up prize of P2,000.
Blessed by Sophia’s two-point count for a win, Obeso overtook Ubanan’s 18 points with his 19-point output en route to taking the championship crown worth P3,000.
The ageless Mario Arroyo, with his final-round victory, was able to catch up with Ubanan at 18 but was relegated to third with a P1,000 take-home after the Bucholz tiebreaker.
“Without a doubt, Ubanan is the best in Consolacion. He is Batang Consolacion by the way, and he finished the tournament in the most creative way he can think of,” said My Chess Derby digital creator Leo Wabe in a joke.
The top-15 finishers include Jashfer Gonzales, Abdul Halil Abdullah, Jeff Russell Rivera, Rodney Opada, Ace Joshua Caralde, Fujian Gomonit, Jeshua Lagunay, Joseph Maestrado, Jan Calvin Abesamis, Paciano Gulle, Kinmapil Virtudazo and Arena Fide Master Benoni Wabe.
