MANILA, Philippines — Janelle Mae Frayna completed her return to the top after reigning supreme in the Philippine National Women’s Chess Championship in Malolos, Bulacan.
The country’s first and only Woman Grandmaster played it cautious and drew with Bernadette Galas in just 15 moves of a Petroff duel to finish with 11.5 points in 15 rounds and reclaim the crown she last snared five years ago.
It was her fourth national title after she also won it all in 2013 and 2016.
The enlisted Army personnel from Bicol also killed two birds with one stone as she also punched one of the three tickets to this September’s World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
The triumph had somehow buried the bitter memories of 2024 when, as then a 16-year-old prodigy from Cagayan de Oro, Ruelle Canino unseated the former while crowning herself the champion.
Canino, who agreed to a 22-move standoff with Marie Antoinette San Diego in 22 moves of a Queen’s Gambit Declined, ended up second with 10.5 points of this event financed by host Mayor Christian Natividad and the PSC.
The 18-year-old 2025 ASEAN Individual Championships silver winner had all the chances to retain the title but her slow start—half a point in the first two rounds—derailed her bid.
She, however, secured her return trip to the Olympiad after debuting two years ago in Budapest, Olympiad where the country copped a Category B gold medal.
The third Olympiad slot went to Jan Jodilyn Fronda, who split the point with Queen Pamplona in 30 moves of a Center-Counter game and bested Bernadette Galas via better tiebreak score after the two finished with 10 points apiece.
The National Chess Federation of the Philippines will nominate the last two members of that Samarkand-bound squad. TMT