Woman Grandmaster candidate Kylen Joy Mordido stopped teenage sensation Ruelle Canino’s upset rampage with a 34-move victory of an English Opening and seized a piece of the lead in the Philippine National Chess Championships dubbed “The Battle of Women’s Masters” at the City Hall of Malolos, Bulacan yesterday.
Mordido, who is the closest thing to follow the footstep of the country’s first and only WGM Janelle Mae Frayna, gave up a pawn and, when the 15-year-old Cagayan de Oro lass bit, the Dasmarinas bet quickly pounced on her helpless prey to launch a vicious kingside attack.
When it was over, Mordido was a rook up and two moves away from checkmating a flusterted Canino.
That massive win forge Mordido a place at the lead alongside Canino, 2019 champion Jan Jodilyn Fronda, who downed fellow Woman International Master Bernadette Galas in 63 moves of a Caro-Kann, and Woman FIDE Master Shania Mae Mendoza, a 42-move winner over Mhage Sebastian via a Sicilian duel.
WFM Cherry Ann Mejia missed out on claiming a share of the top spot after ending up with a marathon 72-move draw with WFM Allaney Jia Doroy of a King’s Indian Attack and settled for solo fifth with 3.5 points, or just half point off the pace.
The 11-round, 12-player tournament is staking a spot to the Asian Indoor Martial Games in Bangkok, Thailand this November, three slots to the FIDE World Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary this September and the top purse worth P85,000 courtesy of host Malolos City Mayor Christian Natividad.
The top-seeded Frayna continued her struggles as she was held to a draw by unheralded Jarel Renz Lacambra and remained in the bottom half of the standings with just two points to show in this event organized by the NCFP and backed by the PSC and POC.
