ALL eyes will be on Janelle Frayna as she defends three titles in the Philippine Women’s Chess Championship grand finals starting November 29 at the Philippine Academy for Chess Excellence (PACE).
Frayna, the country’s first Woman Grandmaster, is the three-time champion in standard, blitz and rapid and is favored to top the week-long tournament held as part of the national team’s preparation for next year’s Asian Games in Hangzhou and the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Thailand.
But the charming 25-year-old from Albay is wary about being upset considering a heavy field of 12 elite players.
“If you will relax, you’ll be out of the team. So you should always be at your best,” Frayna told Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. “But I feel I’m still at my peak so I’m looking forward to my fourth crown.”
Frayna was with National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) Chief Executive Officer Grandmaster Jayson Gonzales and NOVA Wellness store president Vincent Travis Chua in the session presented by San Miguel Corp., Milo, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
Seven young players who survived a series of eliminations are in the grand finale and will compete against Frayna, Women’s International Masters Jan Jodilyn Fronda, Beverly Mendoza, Bernadette Galas and Marie Antoinette San Diego.
One promising player who caught the eye of Frayna and Gonzales is 15-year-old Woman National Master April Joy Claros.
“She has a gift,” Frayna said of Claros.
The tournament will be a single round robin, according to Gonzales, who this early is already looking at two out of the seven young players who qualified as potential members of the national team.
Chua meanwhile, is optimistic at partnering with the NCFP in its programs and projects beginning with the Women’s Chess Championship grand finals through NOVA Wellness.
“Chess has been in the background for a long time but it’s a sport where I think we can really excel in,” said Chua, who previously played chess for the Ateneo team in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.