Nicolas Leads Philippine Team to Bronze in Asian Chess Tourney

SARDINIA, ITALY---Nika Juris Nicolas, the 10 year old Pasig City’s Little Chess Pride, led the Philippine team of Girls under 10 to a Bronze trophy in the Rapid Tournament of the Asian Youth Chess Championships held in Bali, Indonesia last October 14, 2022. The team composed of Nika Juris Nicolas of Pasig, Kena Areld Galleguez of Batangas, and Princess Rane Magallanes of Dipolog, bravely fought chess players from Bangladesh, Iran, Singapore, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mongolia, Australia and Taiwan in the under 10 Girls Division.

It was Nicolas’ draw against the top seed of India that sealed the bronze finish for the Philippines. The Gold trophy went to Vietnam while the Silver trophy was awarded to Mongolia. Nicolas was the Champion in the Girls Under 11 Division of the recently concluded National Youth & Schools Chess Championships held in Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte. She stunned the chess community with her prowess despite only a year of formal chess training. The current Asian Youth Chess Championships is her first over the board international tournament.

As of writing, in addition to the 3 girls, there are 6 boys namely NM Ivan Travis Cu, Davin Sean Romualdez, Ralz Devibar, Fletch Archer Arado, Danry Seth Romualdez and Ran Zeth Magallanes, who are currently fighting it out in the standard and blitz tournaments of the Asian Youth Chess Championships. -Marlon Bernardino-