Recarte Tiauson ties for third in Malaysia chessfest

Filipino Recarte Tiauson finished in a tie for third place at Sunday's conclusion of the

Daniel Yong-Chen I Memorial Merdeka Chess Challenge 2026 Event 6 at the Level 2, KL Gateway , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The top player of Talisay City, Negros Occidental under the guidance of former Senator Manny Pacquiao, Talisay City Mayor Atty. Weng Lopez Lizares and Talisay City Chess Club President Ely Jimenez, split the points with AIM Alexander Philip Kurniawan of Indonesia in the last round to raise his total 6.5 points on six wins, two losses and one draw in nine outings.

However, after the tie break was applied, Tiauson finished 3rd overall in the nine (9) round Swiss-system FIDE Standard tournament.

" My hard work paid off," said Tiauson.

Also with 6.5 points were fourth placer AIM Alexander Philip Kurniawan of Indonesia, fifth placer Nhavin Kumaresan of Malaysia, sixth placer Zhaksylyk Akylbek of Kazakhstan, seventh placer Jie Jonathan Koh En of Singapore, eight placer Je Hern Teoh of Malaysia, and ninth placer Yik Chean Tan of Malaysia.

Jiayou Yang of China scored 8.5 points to claim the title. WCM Sagdarsuren Uranzaya of Mongolia settled second place with 7.0 points.

During the 2025 Asian Amateur Chess Championship held in Hongkong, Tiauson finished tied for second place (officially taking 3rd place on tiebreaks) after scoring 8.0 points across 9 rounds. He finished just behind the gold- medal winner , fellow Filipino FIDE Master Alekhine Nouri in the Blitz Category.

He also delivered a strong performance in the rapid division of the same tournament, finishing in fourth place.-Marlon Bernardino-