3 Mindanaoan kids shines bright in online chess during COVID-19 pandemic

DAVAO CITY---The coronavirus pandemic might cause fear and anxiety to many people around the world.
But the COVID-19 pandemic has not dampen the spirit of three kids from Mindanao who brought honor to their city and the Philippines in general in online chess.
Christian Gian Karlo Arca, a promising male chess player from Panabo City, Davao del Norte brought cheers to the Philippines after he  won third place in the tough  International Friendship Children's Online Chess U15 Tournament.
Arca scored five points after seven rounds to placed third in the chessfest won by Nejc Herega of Slovania who scored six points and Roman Dehtiarov of Ukriane who placed second after scoring 5.5 points.
Aside from Arca, James Catayas a 12-year-old teen from Buhangin, Davao City scored two upset wins against two foreign Grandmasters.

Catayas, a student of SDA Elementary School scored an upset win against 34-year-old Polish grandmaster  Zbigniew  Pakleza in an online friendly chess match last June 6.
The win against Pakleza is a huge boost to the promising chess career of Catayas since the latter is ranked 773 in the world.
Pakleza is also one of the top chess players in Poland as he is ranked 30th in his homeland.
Earlier, Catayas made headlines after he a 27-year-old grandmaster from India in an online friendly chess match on May 23.
James Catayas upset GM Mishra Swayams, who is currently ranked 878 in the world and 44th in India.
Catayas, a regular player for Davao City in local, national, and international junior chess tournaments, is very happy to have won against the two experienced players.
Meanwhile, Promising Davaoena chesser Samantha Umayan helped the Philippines represented by the Far Eastern University high school team secure a second place finish in the Inter Academy International Online U18 Rapid Chess Championship last June 13-15.

The FEU team fell short against the host and powerhouse chess team Chess Academy of Armenia in the finals 1-5.
Despite the loss, the Philippine team is still very happy with their performance against some of the top high school chess teams around the world.
The Philippines reached the finals earlier after beating the  World of Chess Academy of Kazakhstan in the semifinals.(Romeo Braceros Jr.)