Pride of Lapu-Lapu
From now on, he shall be known as Candidate Master (CM) Jerish John Velarde.
The 12-year-old Velarde of Lapu-Lapu City was officially handed the CM title by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) after an impressive stint in the 19th ASEAN+ Age Groups Chess Championships, where he bagged a silver medal in the standard competition of the boys’ under-12 division.
Velarde of the Maria Ernestine School scored a total of 6.5 points and capped off his campaign with a victory over the heavily favored Vietnamese Candidate Master (CM) Hoang Gia Bao Vu.
According to his father, Edilberto Velarde Jr., NCFP executive director Red Dumuk and International Arbiter Kok Onn Osric handed over the CM title to the young chess phenom, who has an ELO rating of 1,586.
Meanwhile, another Cebuano woodpusher, Regina Catherine Quiñanola, saved the Cebuano contingent from a medal shutout in the nine-round standard division competition by bagging a bronze medal in the girls’ under-14 division.
The 14-year-old University of San Carlos (USC) woodpusher finished with 6.0 points. She also bagged a silver medal in the team event with fellow individual standings bronze medalist Jerlyn Mae San Diego and Ledj Janalyn Barcenas. /REPORTER