Bolico, Faeldonia top 1000GM Chess tilt

Steve Zacky Bolico and Jerick Faeldonia showcased their board savvy in their respective age groups in the 1000GM Chess tournament recently at the Robinson's Galleria Mall in Ortigas.

Bolico, a scion of the respected chess-playing clan from Pasig, scored six points in the seven-round Swiss system tournament. He won five and drew two, including his final-round assignment against John Randall Peralta.

The 11-year-old Bolico emerged champion and received the top cash prize, including a collector's item chess book given by the sponsoring 1000GM organization based in the United States.

Bolico had a more superior tiebreak points ahead of fellow six-pointer John Lesther Villanueva, who had six wins and one loss. It was Bolico who defeated Villanueva in the deciding penultimate round.

The tournament may have discovered some of the country's next big talents.

The 1000GMs program, which aims to support the careers of budding chess minds, saw the rise of six-year-old Marius Constante, who finished third overall.

Constante, also a mathematically and musically gifted toddler from Caloocan, scored 5.5 points and took the bronze medal ahead of fellow 5.5 pointers Peralta and Marco Piolo Sanido.

Constante was two pawns ahead in his third-round match with Villanueva when he made several mistakes in the middle game.

He allowed Villanueva to take the initiative and eventually blundered a piece.

Notable achievements also include the Top Ten finish of female players Glaiza Celine Romero. Aria Sophia Paras and Reese Valerie Barbosa, a niece of US-based Filipino GM Oliver Barbosa.

They all had five points and tied with Jeric Marc Legaspi, L-Mar Patubo, Vishy Canubas, John Timothy Navarro, Johann Roald Sinsay, David Marcus Badillo and Frank Samuel Engles.

1000GMs announced that it will further search the whole country for talents and will support their careers, should they choose to become grandmasters of the sport. Monthly tournaments are slated throughout Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.