Ozamiz city: Filipino Woman FIDE Master Ruelle Canino conquered her Indonesian foe in the sixth round to boost her title campaign in the 6th ASEAN Individual Chess Championships - Gov. Henry Oaminal Cup, at the Asenso Misamis Occidental Resort and Aquamarine Park.
According to Philippines News Agency, the 17-year-old Canino, an Olympiad veteran and reigning national champion, stunned fifth-seed Woman International Master Laysa Latifah in 36 moves of a Sicilian duel. Meanwhile, Janelle Mae Frayna, the country's first and only Woman Grandmaster, settled for a draw with Vietnamese WGM Hoang Thi Bao Tram after 26 moves of a Reti duel.
Both Canino and Frayna are in second place, in a tie with Hoang, Vietnamese WGM Nguyen Thi Mai Hung, and Russian WIM Ekaterina Smirnova with 4.5 points each. Russian IM Evgenija Ovod, the No. 8 seed, split the point with Vietnamese WGM Nguyen Thi Mai in 30 moves of a Queen's Gambit Declined to keep the lead in the nine-round event.
In the Open division, Filipino IMs Pau Bersamina and Christian Gian Karlo Arca split the point in just 18 moves of a Catalan to join three others in third place with four points each. IMs Munkhdalai Amilal of Mongolia and VS Raahul of India defeated local bets IM Jem Garcia and Kim Steven Yap, respectively, to stay on top of the standings.
The champion in the men's and women's divisions will get an outright GM title.
