Chess Olympiad-bound Janelle Mae Frayna and Ruelle Canino head the 14-player field in the Philippine National Women’s Invitational Chess Championship starting on Tuesday in Alicia, Isabela.
Frayna, the country’s first and only Woman Grandmaster, and Woman International Master Canino are the favorites to rule this round-robin format event.
Shania Mae Mendoza and Mhage Sebastian, also bound for the Olympiad set Sept. 15-27 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, are seeing action.
Also seeing action are Bernadette Galas, Jemaicah Yap Mendoza, Marie Antoinette San Diego, Jersey Marticio, Allaney Jia Doroy, Francois Marie Magpily, Cherry Ann Mejia, Kate Nicole Ordizo, Franchesca Largo and Diana Ramos.
Alicia is also hosting the National Junior Championships, National Children’s Championships, Philippine Youth selection tournament and the FIDE classification tournament, backed by the Philippine Sports Commission and the National Chess Federation of the Philippines.
National Master titles are at stake in the FIDE selection meet.