Budapest: National Master Nika Juris Nicolas of Pasig City bagged the bronze medal in the Six Days Budapest Under 2250 category chess tournament held from Sept. 12 to 17 in Hungary. Nicolas tallied 4.5 points on four wins, two losses, and one draw in the seven-player round robin standard tournament.

According to Philippines News Agency, Nicolas achieved victories against Bora Yagiz of Turkey in Round 2, Andras Bacsi of Hungary in Round 4, Tamas Titusz Torok of Hungary in Round 6, and Viktoria Kuehn of Germany in Round 7. Her losses came against FM Donat Daroczi of Hungary in Round 1 and FM Miklos Halak of Hungary in Round 3, while she drew with Michael Yip of Canada in Round 5. Halak secured the gold medal with six points, while Daroczi took silver with 5.5 points.

"3rd Place! Congratulations Baby Nika for the bronze finish in the Six Days Budapest Sept 2025 Under 2250! Despite being the 7th seed and youngest player therein, you endured and even secured a podium finish. More importantly, you gained 65 rating points!" posted Nika's mother, National Chess Federation of the Philippines legal counsel lawyer Nikka De Vega, on her Facebook account on Thursday. Nika Juris, who earned the National Master title at the age of 10 in 2023, is a result of the NCFP's grassroots development program.

Meanwhile, Rep. Aniela Bianca has filed House Resolution No. 229 to recognize the achievements of Nika Juris and NM Mark Gabriel Usman, along with the rest of Team Philippines, in the Asian Zone 3.3 Schools Chess Championships held from Aug. 27 to 31 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Nicolas topped the girls' U13 category, while Usman triumphed in the U17 Open event.