PANABO City’s FIDE Master (FM) Christian Gian Karlo Arca emerged as the under-17 champion, amassing 8.5 points at the recently concluded 3rd Governor Henry S. Oaminal Chess Festival held at the Asenso Misamis Occidental Sports and Cultural Center (AMOSACC) in Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental.
The top-seeded 15-year-old Grade 10 student from Panabo City National High School dominated the nine-round Swiss System format competition, which drew 70 players in the under-17 category.
For his impressive performance, Arca received a cash prize of P60,000 and a champion’s trophy.
Gabriel Siano of Pangil, Laguna, scored eight points to claim the runner-up prize of P30,000. National Master (NM) Keith Adriane Ilar of Misamis Oriental and Jess Raphael Aballar of Agusan del Norte, each with seven points, finished third and fourth, earning P20,000 and P10,000, respectively.
Carl Jasphyr Lloyd Fiel from Digos City (6.5 points) and Keirt Rolevan Rusia from Cebu City (six points) placed fifth and sixth, taking home P6,000 and P2,000, respectively. Kassandra Day Tadeo of Maramag, Bukidnon, scored 6.5 points to secure the top lady award and a P6,000 cash prize.
In the ninth and final round, Arca drew with Ilar, adding to his earlier victories over Karl Augusto Xander Sayson, AFM Lorenzo Portugal, Siano, Rusia, Sean Cogonon, Rjay Brylle Iyog, Aballar, and Christone Dhane dela Cruz.
Arca won the National Youth and Chess School Championship in Alicia, Isabela with a perfect score of seven wins in the standard event.
Meanwhile, Filipino International Master Michael Concio Jr. displayed masterful endgame skills to secure a nail-biting victory in an Armageddon tie-break against top-seeded Super Grandmaster Timur Gareyev of Uzbekistan, clinching the open category title.
Concio, representing Dasmariñas City, Cavite, played as white and triumphed in 41 moves of the Nimzo-Indian Defense.
Concio's victory earned him P100,000, doubled from the original P50,000 by the governor, and a trophy.
"I am extremely satisfied with the outcome. The results exceeded my expectations," Concio said.
Gareyev took the P60,000 runner-up purse and said, “I pushed myself to my limits, as I kept on attacking him but he defended well. We both gave a good fight, but I was time-pressured. In Armageddon, you have to play fast and precise.
According to Arena Grandmaster Engr. Rey Urbiztondo, in chess, the Armageddon is a variation of the blitz event where a drawn game is counted as a win for the black pieces. By nature, an Armageddon game cannot end in a draw, and black also starts with less time on the clock than white.
Initially, former US Open champion Gareyev gained an advantage when a coin toss favored him. The onetime challenger of super GM Alireza Firouzja (2804), Gareyev, who once held an elite 2682 Elo rating, chose to play with the black pieces in the Armageddon showdown, starting with five minutes on the clock against Concio's six, with no time increment.
Requiring only a draw to win, Gareyev countered Concio's d4 opening with Nf6, steering the game into the main line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. MLSA with reports from Marlon Bernardino
