Torre, Frayna hold chess simul vs 37 entries

MANILA, Philippines - Grandmaster Eugene Torre and Jannelle Mae Frayna, the country’s first woman GM, shared their expertise and provided inspiration to 37 students as they held a chess simul exhibition at SmartKids Asia Philippines recently.

The students were champions and first runners-up of the inter-school chess challenge launched by Diwa Pasiklaban sa Paaralan League of Champions in National Capital Region.

“What’s more important than medals and winning honors is that you learn the benefits of the game, and you become productive and better citizens because of them,” Torre told the young participants.

Three stood out in the exhibition match, including Hans Andrew Capito of Escuela de Sophia of Caloocan; Jean Carlos Miguel Carana-o of Arellano University, Legarda Campus; and Allan II Dolfo of Villager’s Montessori Center. “Respect for the GM was there, but during the game I did not think of myself as an ordinary fan, rather, we were equal in front of the board. That helped me boost my confidence,” said Capito in his face-off with Torre, Asia’s first GM.

For Frayna, the event helped achieve her goal to promote chess to kids. “You need to do a lot of training that’s not only limited to books. You need to have a sound mind and body,” said Frayna to aspiring masters. “Despite the setbacks and disappointments, don’t give up. Just push through.”

Torre and Frayna were recipients of the top PSA (Philippine Sportswriters Association) Awards recently.

The chess challenge is the latest addition to Diwa Pasiklaban, the country’s only travelling ICT-integrated quiz competition. Given the amount of support the chess challenge received in NCR, it will likely attract the interest of schools from other regions.