Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Sgt. Olea Mini Tournament and Lapu-Lapu's top 30 players

Report by Aldwin Daculan
Edited by Guy Chessman

A very tiny tournament was held in Lapu-Lapu, 2 weeks ago in Sgt. Amado Olea's neighborhood, in celebration of the baptism of Sgt. Olea's second child. The tournament was comprised of some CEPCA members and some top Lapu-Lapu players as well. They were, Aldwin Daculan, Mark Cimafranca, Jun Kidlat, Alvin Regodon and even Sgt. Olea himself. Former CEPCA presidents, Jun Olis and Jojo Muralla, also participated in the mini tournament. Winners of the said humble event were 1. Cimafranca, 2. Daculan, and 3. Olis (!). A very surprising comeback for the CEPCA player and Lapu-Lapu patron. Hehe.

By the way, Mr. Aldwin Daculan sent me a text comprising a list of the top 30 rated players in Lapu-Lapu. I will share these to you all, my fellow Cebuano players, because It is somehow interesting.

  1. Joel Fernan 2243 NM
  2. Bryle Arellano 2102
  3. Allan Salientes 2093
  4. Allan Pason 2051
  5. Peterson Sia 1977
  6. Mark Cimafranca 1932
  7. Albert Rivera 1911
  8. Henry Infante 1865
  9. Jerish Velarde 1843
  10. Kraig Quinain 1841
  11. Jonathan Canque 1835
  12. Aldwin Daculan 1831
  13. Alvin Regodon 1813
  14. Rigil Amacna 1808
  15. Roxanne Tampus 1808
  16. C. Lim 1796
  17. Rolando Torres 1793
  18. Raffy Bensi 1792
  19. Amay Igot 1788
  20. Josh Gocotano 1787
  21. Adimar Toledo 1787
  22. Ezekiel Limpot1785
  23. Nilo Bonganciso 1774
  24. Ariel Abellana 1770
  25. Ian Pino 1756
  26. Jerele Velarde 1751
  27. Michael Gocotano 1738
  28. Lefa Bensi 1727
  29. Jose Gocotano 1691
  30. Adelyn Bensi 1645
Along with the list, I will give some insight on the top 4 players rated in the list...

NM Joel Fernan(photo below), who is now currently rated no.1, now lives in Pagadian, Mindanao, and seldom comes back to Lapu-Lapu occasionally. He has a lot of accollades awarded to him, among them is the Region VII Championships of 2007, wherein, after a draw with the very strong player Jobannie Tabada, Fernan clinched the title. Fernan was also the Non-Master National Champion of 1999.


Rated No.2 is Brylle Arellano. A native of Negros, this relative newcomer to Cebu's chess scene has proven quite a lot in a very short period of time. He is already considered a serious contender for any Cebu tournament he participates. He is already known as a strong and relatively veteran player from his hometown by the way.

Allan Salientes(photo below), rated #3 in the list, is no new face in Cebu chess. He is a veteran player and has already won, or at least placed, on some of the local tournaments here in Cebu. Most of the tournaments he participated, were very strong in Cebu.  His most recent triumph was the Consolacion Open in SM Consolacion, last 2012.


The youngest in the top 4 is the teenage Allan Pason(photo below), who, at the tender age of 16, has proven a lot already in Cebu Chess. Nobody expected that such a tiny, midget young boy would be a "thorn" to Cebu's very best best! When he was still 14, he had already beaten a lot of the "old guards" of Cebu and rising star players as well. he attacks well, defends well, and has an immense talent for "danger". He is a CVIRAA player, Palaro player, Shell grand finalist and Cebu's Junior Champion. He also placed 3rd in one of those very strong E-Mall tournaments in Cebu a few years ago. It is speculated that he will play for the University of San-Jose Recoletos when he finally goes to college. In Cebu, he is considered as the main rival to the 14-year-old positional player, Rhenzi Khyle Sevillano.


So I think that's it! By the way, a FULL report would be coming soon on the VELARDE BIRTHDAY TOURNAMENT last week. Please stay tuned on this site. Hopefully, the full report will be readily available by the end of this week :)

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Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Abellana and Cimafranca: Upcoming Chess Talents from Lapu-Lapu

AJ ABELLANA
In his performance at a tournament in Cebu City on November last year, Ariel Joseph (a.k.a. "AJ") Abellana displayed his chess powers when he beat four of Cebu City's Class A players, of whom among them were Joel Pacuribot, Bonn Tibod, and NM Leonardo Alidani. Although Abellana was not able to get any of the prizes, he certainly shocked Cebu's chess community especially when he was in a winning streak from rounds 2 to 5! A few weeks later, he also had a small match with chess wonder Allan Pason and swept the match with a 4-0 score! 

Despite his great performance in the game, Abellana will not be able to play enough tournaments because of his priorities, and that is his studies. Hopefully, Cebu will see more of him this summer when he can divide his time between chess and studies :)

MARK CARL CIMAFRANCA
Another Lapu talent, Mark Carl Cimafranca, had a very strong showing recently in the latest PNG Cebu City Qualifyig Leg. Cimafranca drew with top seeds Carlos Moreno III and Felix Shaun Balbona in the penultimate rounds, but his chances were extremely narrow to qualify as he was beaten by Kidd Salazar in the early rounds. In the final round, Cimafranca was in a must-win situation with the Black pieces but was held to a draw by University of San Carlos player, Spencer De Guzman. That draw, sealed Cimafranca's fate for having any chance to qualify in the PNG. Yet this is not the end for Lapu-Lapu's Cimafranca, as he still has hopes to win the VMA tournament this Saturday.