DAVAO City's Irish Yngayo clinched the girls’ under-14 title of the 2017 National Age-Group Chess Championships that wrapped up at the Robinsons Galleria Cebu Tuesday evening to join boys’ under-20 champion John Marvin Miciano and two other Dabawenyos in the Vietnam-bound Team Philippines for the Asean+ Age-Group Chess Championships in November.
The 14-year-old Yngayo, a Grade 8 student of Davao Central College in Toril, earned a total of 12.5 points in the 15-round Swiss System format competition while Regina Catherine Quinanola and fellow Davao City bet Blanche Ellyz Bongato placed second and third, respectively. Quinanola tallied 10.5 points while Bongato, who scored 10, finished third.
Yngayo, seeded fifth, only lost to fifth-seeded Ruth Joy Vinuya in the fourth round but won 11 and drew three matches.
"Napildi ko kay akoang position sa end game weak pawn structure sa queen side, wala nako ma-prevent iyang mga rook nga musulod (I lost since I had a weak pawn structure at the queen side during the end game and I was not able to prevent her rooks from attacking)," Yngayo said in a phone interview Wednesday.
She upset top seed Bongato in the final round after beating Oryza Reign Repato, Rohanisah Buto, Elle Krizia Mendoza, Mary Margarett Quinanola, Wenseal Magoliman, Checy Aliena Telesforo, Angel Naureen Bagano, Aera Kerl Charm Sinining, Adelyn Bensi, and Alphecca Gonzales.
The Dabawenya held Me Ann Joy Baclayon, Quinanola and Marian Calimbo to a draw in their separate matches.
Yngayo, youngest child of Arnel, a technical engineering staff at Radyong Bayan, and Asuncion, a housewife, said she was not confident about her stint in the national finals having not prepared for it but said she's happy to have pulled off the title victory.
"Walo jud ko kapangandam kay nagsige rako og Facebook pero kay layo paman tong sa Vietnam, preparahan nako kay kailangan jud mag-gold (I wasn't able to prepare for the nationals as I was hooked on Facebook but I will prepare for Vietnam as I must win a gold)," she added.
Yngayo also won the National Age-Group Chess Championships girls 12-under crown in 2014 and competed in the Asean+ Age-Group Chess Championships twice in the past. She got one silver and five bronzes in the Indonesia edition and three silvers in Singapore.
Her expenses in her national stint was shouldered by her family. She and father Arnel went to Cebu via plane but both are coming home with other Davao delegates via passenger ship from Cebu to Cagayan de Oro City where they will take the bus to Davao City. They are expected to arrive today.
Miciano, meanwhile, went on to pocket the boys under-20 title with 9.5 points while Wesley Jovan Magbanua copped a bronze in boys under-12 to advance to the Asean meet either in Vietnam or Kuala Lumpur with Yngayo and Bongato.
