Derotas earns slot to int'l chess tilt

CEBU, Philippines - Cebuana chess prodigy Vic Glysen Derotas booked a ticket into an international competition after topping the girls 12-under category of the National Age-Group Chess Championships yesterday in Batangas.

Thus, the 10-year-old student from the University of San Carlos-Basic Education (USC-BEd) earned the right to be one of the country's representatives to the 2012 ASEAN Age-Group Chess Championships slated June 10-20 in Hue, Vietnam.

“I really did not expect to win because the competition was very tough. Hopefully, I will best represent our country in Vietnam," said Derotas, who started playing the sport at the age of four under the tutelage of his father Victor.

Derotas joined her first major tournament at the age of six, beating a host of older opponents to win gold medal in the 2007 Milo Little Olympics Visayas Regional Finals. She continually improves her performance each year on the way to collect three Most Outstanding Athlete awards in her young career.

To further sharpen her skills preparatory for his first foreign joust, Derotas will see action in the Philippine National Games (PNG) starting on May 26 in Dumaguete City. — (FREEMAN)