Daniel Quizon fought fellow International Master Jan Emmanuel Garcia to a 30-move standoff in the 10th and penultimate round to virtually crown himself champion of the 2021 Philippine National Chess Championship at the Solea Hotel and Resort in Mactan, Cebu on Tuesday.
Needing a draw to clinch the crown, Quizon, 17, did just that by holding his ground against Garcia’s King’s Indian Attack.
Quizon was battling IM Ronald Dableo in the last round at press time but will still clinch the crown regardless of the result as the former had already amassed eight points, or two points ahead of the latter, Grandmaster Darwin Laylo and IM Ricky de Guzman.
Laylo halved the point with IM Paulo Bersamina in 25 moves of a Petroff Defense while de Guzman fought Woman GM Janelle Mae Frayna to a 66-move deadlock of a London System.
The win should pocket Quizon the winner’s purse worth P80,000, a seat to next year’s Hanoi Southeast Asian Games and the 2023 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Bangkok and Chonburi, Thailand and the distinction as the best in the land.
IM John Marvin Miciano posted the only triumph of the round at the expense of Dableo in 39 moves of a Reti Opening that catapulted the former to a share of No. 5 with Garcia with 5.5 points each.
In the other results, IM Joel Pimentel split the point with IM Michael Concio, Jr. in 30 moves of a Petroff and GM Joey Antonio settling for a 30-move standoff with Allan Pason of a Caro-kann encounter.
The event was being supported by Barkadahan Para sa Bansa partylist, Philippine Sports Commission, CCLEX, Metro Pacific Tollways (MPTC), Alin Cargo, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, POC president Bambol Tolentino, Chess Movement Inc., chair Dr. Ariel Potot, RiChess Masters and Atty. Roel Canobas.