Ruelle Canino confirmed her new-found status as the next big thing in women’s chess by winning the Philippine National Women’s Chess Championship dubbed “Battle of Women Masters.”
Given little chance or none at all to win the event that gathered the best in the country, Canino, 16, brought down one giant after another to emerge as the surprise winner in the week-long event held in Malolos, Bulacan.
Canino capped her stellar performance by stunning Woman International Master Jan Jodilyn Fronda in 62 moves of an English Opening to snatch the title.
In a show of courage and brilliance, Canino needed a full point to beat the erstwhile leader for the title, and she did just that.
For topping the event worth P85,000, Canino secured the lone berth to the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Bangkok, Thailand this November.
It came with one of the three slots to the national team seeing action in the FIDE World Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary this September the Cagayan de Oro wunderkind already secured the day before.
Against Fronda, Canino snatched a pawn early and used it to create a two-pawn central passed pawn that forced her more experienced foe to give up a piece to prevent it.
It was all Canino from there.
Fronda though consoled herself with the fact that she made the Olympiad-bound squad while pocketing P52,000 for a runner up finish with eight points in this event organized by the NCFP and backed by the PSC and POC.
Top seed Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna finished third with seven points after a 59-move triumph over Woman FIDE Master Cherry Ann Mejia in another English encounter.
She took home P40,000.
