World Chess Olympiad-bound Janelle Mae Frayna and Jan Jodilyn Fronda of the Philippines made a good account of themselves with solid finishes in the 26 HZ University of Applied Sciences Chess Tournament in Vlissingen, the Netherlands over the weekend.
Frayna downed Dutch Joaquin Aarts to end up in a nine-player tie at 13th place with 6.5 points apiece while Fronda turned back another local bet Hicham Boulahfa to finish in a 16-player logjam at 22nd spot with six points each.
English Grandmaster Daniel Howard Fernandez topped the nine-round meet with 7.5 points with GMs Antonios Pavlidis of Greece and Samvel Tersahakyan of Armenia completed the podium finish with seven points each.
Frayna and Fronda, whose trip is being backed by Philippine Sports Commission chair Richard Bachmann and commissioner Edward Hayco and NCFP chairman/president Prospero Pichay, Jr., hope to sustain their impressive showing as they see action in the Sparkassen Chess Trophy unfurling today in Dortmund, Germany.
“Hopefully, we can keep up the momentum and do better in Dortmund for our third tournament in Europe,” said Frayna, the country’s very first Woman Grandmaster.
In Dortmund, the two will be joined reigning national champion Ruelle Canino, who will also be part of the national women’s team seeing action in the Olympiad set Sept. 10 to 23 in Budapest, Hungary and will represent the country in the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games late this year in Thailand.
They will also compete in a tournament in Barcelona, Spain from Aug. 23 to Sept. 1.
“These tournaments are in preparation for the Budapest Olympiad as well as the AIMAG,” said NCFP chief executive officer and national women’s team coach GM Jayson Gonzales, who is accompanying the team in Europe.
