Frayna, Canino earned rating points at Barcelona Int’l Chess Open

MANILA: Olympiad-bound Janelle Mae Frayna and Ruelle Canino performed well to earn rating points at the Barcelona International Chess Open which concluded in Spain last Sunday. Frayna, the country's first and only Woman Grandmaster, finished with an unbeaten record of 6.5 points out of 10 rounds; while Canino, finished with six points, boosting their confidence as they see action at the 44th World Chess Olympiad on Sept. 10 to 22 in Budapest, Hungary. Frayna improved to 2268 from 2162 after posting three wins, including one over Hungarian GM Gabor Papp in the third round, and seven draws. Canino, a WFM (Woman FIDE Master) and reigning national champion, garnered 160.8 rating points to improve from 1908 to 2164.8. 'The real star in this tournament is 16-year-old, WFM Ruelle Canino. She almost achieved her first WIM (Woman International Master) norm,' Frayna said on a Facebook post Monday. 'With this current form and performance, soon enough, she can reach 2300 before the year ends, or who knows, maybe eve n after the Olympiad," she added. Frayna and Canino are scheduled to arrive on Monday and will be leaving for Budapest on Sept. 9. Also competing at the Olympiad are WIM Jan Jodilyn Fronda, Woman FIDE Master Shania Mae Mendoza, Woman International Master Bernadette Galas, GMs Julio Catalino Sadorra and John Paul Gomez, GM-candidate Daniel Quizon and IMs Jan Emmanuel Garcia and Paolo Bersamina. The coaches are GM Eugene Torre (men) and National Chess Federation of the Philippines chief executive officer GM Jayson Gonzales (women). Source: Philippines News Agency