Bacolod teen grabs Phl sudoku grand master title

MANILA, Philippines - A 14-year-old second year high school student from Bacolod City emerged as the Philippines’ new sudoku grand master at the 5th Philippine Sudoku Super Challenge over the weekend at the SM North EDSA, Quezon City.

Timothy James Tan, a sophomore at the Trinity Christian School in Bacolod, bested 28 other contestants, including adult professionals in the Grandmaster Division, to bag the crown as the Philippines’ sudoku grand master, succeeding 2010’s grand master Sarah Jane Cua, a high school coed at the Pangasinan Universal Institute.

Tan solved the fifth and final Sudoku puzzle in just six minutes. He garnered a total of 1,576.33 points to bag the Sudoku Grandmaster title. For his feat, he won the P60,000 cash prize and a plaque.

First runner-up was Alvin Ian Chan, a student of Ateneo de Manila University, who won P40,000. The second runner-up, Matthew Chris Chan, also from Ateneo, won P30,000.

Marielle Dee of Quezon City and Frederick Ong of Bacolod City were third and fourth runners-up, respectively.

Tan already exhibited his mastery of sudoku last year in the 4th Philippine Sudoku Challenge, when he won first place in the Wizard Division.

Last October, he got into the top 15 finalists in Brand’s Asia Pacific Challenge in Singapore where the Philippines’ Cua won the sudoku championship.

Simon Chua, president of the Mathematics Trainers Guild-Philippines (MTG), organizer of the contest, said 164 students and professionals qualified this year for the national finals.

The finalists were taken from a pool of 7,000 contestants in the regional eliminations in SM Supermalls around the country last year.

There were three divisions – Whiz Kid, Wizard, and Grandmaster – with 164 finalists.

In the Sudoku Wizard Division, open to high school students, Kaye Janelle Yao of Grace Christian College in Quezon City won first place and went home with P50,000.

Ma. Czarina Lao of St. Jude Catholic School won first runner-up and P30,000 and Jemima Sawey of Baguio City National High School, second runner-up and P20,000.

Bryan Joseph Borlongan of St. Mary’s College of Baliuag and Cybelle Liana Go of Bethany Christian School in Cebu City completed the top five.

In the Sudoku Whiz Kid Division for elementary students, Bryan Russel Esperanza of St. Louis University Laboratory Elementary School in Baguio City won first place to bag P20,000.

Rhina Coleen Manabay of Sto. Angel Elementary School in Laguna won first runner-up and P10,000, followed by Gerald Dalan of Olongapo City who won second runner-up and P5,000. Bryan Pocholo Miguel Illana of Cavite and Romeo Enguerra II of Binan, Laguna completed the top five.

The board of jurors was composed of Jaime Caro, chair of the Department of Computer Science of the University of the Philippines in Diliman and assistant vice president for development of the UP System, and Professor Maria Luisa Villano of the University of Santo Tomas.

Chua said the winners will represent the country this year in the 2011 World Sudoku Championship in Hungary, Brand’s Sudoku Challenge 2011 Asia Pacific Open in Singapore and the 5th Brand’s Sudoku Thailand International Open 2011 Princess Somsawali Cup in Bangkok.

The 5th Philippine Sudoku Super Challenge was organized by MTG and SM Supermalls.