PH diplomats shine in Russia-ASEAN chess tourney

THREE members of the Philippine Diplomatic Corps proved their mettle in the brain-wracking game of chess by garnering top honors during the ASEAN-Russia online chess tournament held on April 18.

A statement from the Russian Embassy in its Telegram channel said that Jasper Rom. Senior Officer, Program Cooperation and Project Management Division, ASEAN Secretariat, topped the competition with 50 points, in a field of 75 participants coming from Russia, ASEAN including Timor Leste and the ASEAN Secretariat.

Rom was followed by Eric Valenzuela, First Secretary and Consul at the Embassy of the Philippines in Madrid, Spain, with 35 points.

Meanwhile, Lorainne Powao, Administrative Officer from the Department of Foreign Affairs based in Cebu, was judged the ‘Best Female Player’ after garnering 18 points.

Alfat Urumbaev, Third Secretary at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was also cited for earning 18 points.

Unsurprisingly, the Russian Team won the team event.

Aside from a Certificate of Recognition for all the participants, the Embassy said all the winners will receive a special chess board signed by Russian Grandmaster Sergey Karjakin, considered a ‘chess prodigy’ when he was crowned in 2002 as the world’s youngest grandmaster at the age of 12 years and 7 months.