THE Philippines capped its campaign in the 2012 Asian Youth Chess Championship by winning a gold and a pair of silver and bronze medals at the conclusion of the weeklong meet in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka.
Shania Mae Mendoza provided the lone gold for the Filipino chessers by topping the rapid competition. It was actually a 1-2-3 finish for the country in the event as Stephen Rome Pangilinan and Justin Mordido took home the silver and bronze, respectively.
The other PH medalists in the June 24-July 1 tournament held at the Hotel Chaya Tranz were MC Dominique Lagula and Austin Jacob Literatus, who bagged silver and bronze medals in the blitz competition.
Lagula, a native of Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, came close to winning the gold, but failed to convert his winning position and ended up in a fighting draw against eventual champion Zhao Zhouqiao of China.
Zhao finished with six out of a possible nine points, while Lagula had 5.5 points.
“Sayang gold sana si MC. Winning `yung game niya sa final match, kaso nauwi sa tabla,” said National Chess Federation of the Philippines secretary-general Jayson Gonzales.
Literatus on the other hand, drew with eventual gold medal winner FM Javanbakht Nima of Iran. A Koushik of India won the silver.
The successful campaign of the Filipino chessers came a month after Team Philippines won 12 golds, 36 silvers, and nine bronzes in the standard, rapid, and blitz events of the 13th Asean Age Group Chess Championships in Hue, Vietnam.