WITH more than half of her life revolving around chess, Janelle Frayna cannot imagine life without it.
The first and only Filipina to earn a Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title remains part of the Philippine national team and has built a career around coaching future generations of chess players.
At 30, Frayna is now an instructor at the Philippine Academy for Chess Excellence, a role that has given her purpose long after achieving the biggest feat of her career by earning the FIDE title in 2017.
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“I’m a psychology graduate, but after graduation, I still put so much more time sa chess,” she told SPIN.ph. “I have a claim na talagang dito ako sa chess nilagay, I have a purpose here.”
And that calling extends beyond her own career.
Having benefited from the opportunities chess has given her, Frayna wants other young players to have the chance to pursue their own ambitions.
“The sport has given me everything, a direction, and all my closest friends in life. I am happy where I am at because of it.”
Recently, Frayna became the face of Good Molecules Philippines as the skincare brand promotes taking mindful steps toward acne treatment.
Frayna devoted herself to teaching soon after she became a WGM.
“Yung iba di’ba, when you’re at the prime of your career, you want to avoid pressure, minsan iniignore yung other things, I understand that, pero ako I really wanted to give some of my time to others, dun ako nagsimula mag-turo and I’ve been doing it since, dun ako nagsimula, I was a student too, now, I have my students,” she continued.
She is now the head teacher at the Philippine Academy for Chess Excellence, a chess school originally established by Grandmaster Jason Gonzales, who also coached Frayna herself.
The role has allowed her to experience the sport from a different perspective, helping carve a path for young players.
Frayna has students ranging from children as young as six years old to adults.
She shared that she learned what it means to have someone believe in you, particularly when you are still finding your footing.
“Ang sarap kasi that there's somebody who's believing in you, [telling you], 'Gagaling ka, gagaling ka,'” she said. “I can be proud to be following their own journeys.”
For someone who has spent much of her life competing, the opportunity to help another player improve offers a different kind of fulfillment.
Instead of focusing solely on her own results, she gets to witness the progress of her students, hoping that one day, she can help develop another WGM.
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