AGM Venancio Loyola Jr. (left) during one of his matches in the CEPCA monthly tournament. | Photo from Cebu School of Chess
CEBU CITY, Philippines— Arena Grand Master (AGM) Venancio Loyola Jr. reasserted his dominance in the Cebu Executives & Professionals Chess Association (CEPCA) monthly chess tournament, securing his second consecutive title over the weekend at Robinsons Galleria Cebu.
Loyola Jr., the tournament’s top seed, once again stood alone at the top, finishing the six-round event unbeaten with 5.5 points. His impressive run further solidified his status as the player to beat in the CEPCA circuit.
The reigning champion stormed through the competition, defeating Edwin Alcarde, National Master (NM) Leonardo Alidani, Amado Olea Jr., and Rosendo Yamyamin in his first four matches on Board 1. His perfect streak was momentarily halted in Round 5 when he settled for a draw against seventh seed Marquis Angelo Mallorca.
However, Loyola Jr. ensured a dominant finish, defeating NM Arnolito Cadiz in the final round to clinch back-to-back titles.
Mallorca finished in second place with 5.5 points and was also named the tournament’s best Under-12 competitor.
Rounding out the top three was Joel Pacuribot with 4.5 points, while NM Cadiz and Olea Jr. completed the top five, both tallying 4.0 points.
With this latest triumph, Loyola Jr. has now won two consecutive CEPCA monthly tournaments.
The sixth- to tenth-place finishers were Leo Cortes (4.0), Vince Dela Torre (4.0), NM Alidani (4.0), Samuel Tenio (4.0), and Ruel Hortelano (3.5), with final rankings determined by tiebreak points.