By MARK REY MONTEJO
Filipinos Jaymiel Piel and Thyrone James Tabernilla pulled off vital wins in the ninth and final round and ruled their respective divisions in the Eastern Asian Youth Chess Championships Saturday, July 20, in Penang, Malaysia.
Piel downed Malaysian Shen Ree Herng to top the open Under-14 division with 7.5 points – just half a point ahead of Malaysian Kavin Mohan. Mongolian Ganganbars Zev finished third with 6.5 points.
Tabernilla, for his part, bested countryman Keith Adriane Ilar to reign supreme in the open U16 section with seven points, half a point ahead of Mongolia’s Burentsegsh Aldar and China’s Lin Dianqi with 6.5 points each.
“I am very happy with my victory because almost all of the top players in Asean and Asia joined the tournament,” said Tabernilla.
A 16-year-old, 11th-grader from La Salle-Zobel, Tabernilla secured a FIDE Master title and an International Master norm while Piel gained an FM title.
For Tabernilla and Piel to get that FM title, they must reach the 2100 FIDE rating plateau.
So far, both chessers have improved to above 1900 after each earning a whopping more than 100 rating points due to their exceptional efforts.
Also coming through with a podium finish was Lila Alyssa Serina, who had a bizarre final-round bye to claim third place with 6.5 points.
She actually ended up tied for second with Mongolian Dorjsuren Tselmuun but the latter took second place via the win-over-the-other rule since the Filipina lost to her in the seventh round.
