Quizon clinches gold, PH finishes 7th in U-17 chess tilt

Daniel Quizon emerged as top performer on board 1 as the Philippines finished 7th in the Nizami Banjavi international under-17 online chess team tournament on Monday, April 5.

Quizon scored 8 points out of 9 rounds even as the Philippines lost to Russia, 4-2, in the last round.

Coach Roel Abelgas said Quizon won the gold medal for board 1.

The Philippines garnered 10 points like Azerbaijian 3, Ukraine, JTX Brazil, Latvia, and Estonia as they tied for 6th to 11th places. The Philippines finished 7th on tiebreak.

Andrei Tsvetkov dealt Quizon his only loss in 51 moves of a Benko Gambit.

Winning for the Philippines in the Russia match were Michael Concio over Dmitry Tsoi in a 67-moves Dutch Defense on board 2 and Gladimir Chester Romero against Artem Pingin in a 56-move Sicilian Defense. 

Filipinos who lost to their Russian counterparts include Cyrus James Damiray to Maksim Volkov on board 4, Jerlyn Mae San Diego to Mariya Yakimova on board 5, and Daren dela Cruz to Yana Zhapova on board 6.

Iran won the tournament with 15 points while Turkey finished as a runner-up on a tiebreak over Russia.

Abelgas said tournament rules required a team composition of 3 players under 13 years old and 3 under 17 years old. – Rappler.com