NEWCOMER Joselito Loquez upset veteran woodpushers of the Cebu Executives and Professionals Chess Association (Cepca) en route to clinching the April title of last Sunday at the J Centre Mall in Mandaue City.
Loquez, a new member of Cepca, was tied with Atty. Jong Melendez, Rogelio Enriquez Jr. and Reynaldo Flores with five wins each but emerged on top due to a bigger tie break score of 22.5.
Melendez placed second, Enriquez settled for third while Flores landed at fourth among 34 woodpushers who competed in the monthly tournament.
Loques qualified for the grand finals this December where he will join early qualifiers Eduard dela Torre (January), Mario Bustillo (February) and Enriquez Jr. (March).
Chris Aldritz Pondoyo, Adrian Basilgo, and Aaron Resma topped the under-16, under-20 and under-12 divisions of the Cepca Juniors and Kiddies chess tournament, respectively.