National Master (NM) Jerish John Velarde. | Contributed Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines—Lapu-Lapu City’s chess phenom Jerish John Velarde is one of the newest chess players in the country to earn a National Master (NM) title this year.
The National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) announced on Wednesday, September 1, 2021, that the 15-year old Velarde obtained his NM title.
Velarde has come a very long way from earning his Candidate Master (CM) title in 2018 to becoming one of the 35 new NMs in the country’s highly competitive chess scene.
“Wala pa ni sink in nako karon nga NM nako. Bag-ohay ra man ko nakahibaw. Happy ko about ani,” said the 15-year old Velarde, the ace wood pusher of the Marie Ernestine School in Lapu-Lapu City.
Velarde’s silver medal performance in the under-12 boys’ standard category of the 19th ASEAN+ Age Groups Chess Championships in 2018 held in Davao City was the basis for NCFP to give him the NM title from CM.
However, the young wood pusher has a different goal set in his promising career. He said that achieving a Grand Master (GM) title and following Wesley So and Eugene Torre’s footsteps is a very difficult path to take.
Thus, he wants to take the other direction. His ultimate goal in his chess career is to get the chance to play against not just the country’s best, but also the world’s top chess players. But, he is not dismissing any plans to earn the coveted GM title in the future.
His most recent stint was the Asian Schools Chess Championships – Under 15 Open, where he placed 37th in July this year.
Before that, Velarde represented the country in the Asian Zonal Chess Championships 2021 in June.
He teamed up with NM Merben Roque, NM Rogelio Enriquez Jr., Women’s International Master (WIM) Bernadette Galas, and Jave Mareck Peteros.
He settled for 26th place among 52 other competitors in the international tournament that served as the qualifiers for the world championships.
/bmjo
READ: Red-hot Velarde nails third straight win in Asian Zonals chess