Mirano, Canada top Shell chess S Luzon leg

MANILA, Philippines - Kevin Mirano toppled Patrick Erle Florendo in the sixth round then nipped the second seeded bet in the tiebreak to cop the boys’ juniors crown in the 19th Shell National Youth Active Chess Championships Southern Luzon leg at SM City Batangas in Batangas City last Sunday.

Mirano, held to a draw by Daniel Casil in the fifth round, surprised Florendo with the black pieces to gain the crucial win then the FEU mainstay bounced back from a seventh round draw with Ali Guya with a victory over Sheider Nebato in the final round to finish with seven points in the 20-and-under category.

Florendo, playing out of UST, rebounded from that setback by sweeping his last two matches against Michael Pinero and Jerome Villanueva to tie Mirano and clinch the other berth in the grand finals of the event sponsored by Pilipinas Shell.

Paul Robert Evangelista, tied with Mirano and Florendo halfway through the eight-round tournament, struggled with 1.5 points in the last four rounds and hobbled in joint 10th while Guya, Angelo Merilles and Leonard Libongcogon shared third place with 6.5 points.

Crissa Canada of Adamson, meanwhile, humbled the field in the girls’ juniors side, fighting back from a second round loss to Krissa Abasolo with a sweep of her last five games to finish with six points. The 14-year-old find then edged Crystal Mendoza of UP in the tiebreak to gain the lone slot in the national finals set Oct. 8-9 at SM Megamall.

On hand during awards rites were Ronald Suarez, Sustainable Development manager of Pilipinas Shell, and IM Ronald Dableo, one of the products of the annual event sanctioned by the National Chess Federation of the Phils. and backed by Shell V-Power, Shellane and Shell Helix in partnership with SM Supermalls and Rudy Project.

Third seed Daryl Samantila, also of Adamson, emerged the solo champion in the boys kiddies division with 7.5 points, including a sweep of the last four rounds, as he towed Nezil Merilles of Canubing National High, who wound up solo second with seven points, to the grand finals.

Top ranked Shania Mae Mendoza of International Montessori School posted an impressive sweep of seven games in the girls’ kiddies class to emerge the solo winner for the lone seat in the national finals.